AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Auburn Volleyball hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide in Neville Arena on Friday night for Glow Hard or Glow Home night. After just three sets, the Tigers walked away with a sweep victory over their rivals
The Tigers came out in the first set with a strong start. Lauren Dreves got the Auburn attack started, but the Crimson Tide mounted a quick run at the beginning of the set to take an 8-5 lead. However, the Tigers didn't back down.
Shanell Puetz led the way with five digs in the set, and Alexis Dacosta added three of her own. The Tigers mounted a large run in the middle of the set, forcing an Alabama timeout when the score reached 17-10. Despite the timeout, the Auburn attack kept the pressure on and Lauren Dreves closed out the set with her fifth kill of the night.
The Tigers came out just as strong to begin the second set, going on a 5-0 run. However, Alabama slowly chipped away at Auburn's lead with its aggressive defense, capitalizing on Auburn's mistakes and forcing the Tigers into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Bel Zimmerman came up with an enormous block, her second of the night. The added momentum helped Auburn take the set 25-21, ending it with a block by Liz Markovska.
At the start of the third set, Alabama jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead. Mansfield, Zimmerman, Markovska, and Dreves all had pivotal kills in the game, pushing Auburn further ahead. With Auburn holding strong at the net, the Tide called timeout trailing 18-13. However, it wouldn’t be enough to regain momentum and the Tigers took a 25-19 win to secure the sweep.
Lauren Dreves led the way on the stat sheet once again, racking up 14 kills to lead the team. Liz Markovska was close behind with ten, the only other Tiger in double digits.
Shanelle Puetz played well against the Tide, leading the Tigers in digs with 10. And controlling the offense by setting her hitters well. Kate Mansfield was also a factor once again, recording 5 blocks to continue her outstanding start to the season.
The Tigers will be back in Neville Arena on Sunday to host the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 2 p.m. CDT.
