In the third game of the Alabama Showdown tournament in Homewood, AL, the Tigers maintained their composure after a tight first set. They seized the early momentum in the second set, ultimately winning 3-1 against the Samford Bulldogs.
The Tigers were running a quick tempo early in the game as a strategy, and a couple of kills to start the night came from Bel Zimmerman, who has been a key piece for the Auburn Tigers this season. Lauren Dreves came ready to play this first set and made several aces and kills. The Samford team, however, was not letting up and continued to gain points, keeping the score tight at 13-13. Junior Eden Bower, and senior Liz Markovska had a couple of kills. Senior Zoe Slaughter had one of two aces for the Tigers this set. The Samford team continued to put pressure on the Tigers in this game, with the set tied 16 times due to some aggressive serves and minimal errors. However, they lost the first set 25-23, ultimately due to a net violation on the last point.
The Tigers were not messing around in the second set and took a quick lead of 8-2 to start. Dreves performed well throughout the night in multiple positions. With an upbeat second set for the Tigers, they played a solid defensive and offensive game to win 25-11 and tie the game 1-1.
The Tigers took this momentum into the third set. Zimmerman, who had a great night, made a kill to lead the tigers to a two-point lead, 4-2, and Dreves, with one right behind her, for kill number 11 of the night, to make it 5-3. Junior Eden Bower with a nice stop and a service error by Samford, followed by a block by Zimmerman, the Tigers stretch their lead to 12-6. Sophomore Kalei had a nice ace to make it 19-9 with a double-digit advantage. The Tigers had put Samford under pressure these past sets and did not let up. With an efficient set, Auburn took the lead, winning 25-13, and held a 2-1 advantage.
Set four started with Auburn jumping to an early 8-4 lead. Attacks were spread out well among Dreves, Markovska, and Zimmerman in this set. With her 4th ace of the night, Kalei Edson made it 18-7. The Auburn Tigers did not let up and continued to put pressure on Samford, dominating the last set 25-14 to win 3-1.
Auburn has proven to be one of the best blocking teams in the SEC this year, and its attackers were able to find the court very well throughout the game tonight, consistently blocking and making impressive digs. With success behind the serve line as well, this game had a total of 10 aces.
Both Zimmerman and Dreves used an excellent touch for muitiple kills on the night. Sophomore Kate Mansfield put in a great defensive block against UAB last night and carried that energy into today.
Sophomore Grace Havlicek played a solid game today with three kills and seven block assists, as well as bringing great energy out on the court. Alexis Dacosta played a great game, helping the Tigers with 19 digs, and Shanelle Puetz contributed an impressive 25 assists.
