AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball overcame an early gap Thursday night, rallying from a first-set loss to defeat UAB 3-1 at Neville Arena in the Tigers' home opener.
Auburn lost the opening set 25-19 before responding with three consecutive victories: 25-16, 25-18 and 25-19. The Tigers finished with 54 kills and a .231 hitting percentage, while UAB ended with 33 kills and a .080 hitting percentage.
UAB took the lead early in the opening set, coming out 9-3 and later widening the gap to 11-4. Auburn struggled to find its rhythm offensively, hitting .138 in the set. The Tigers slowly crept back up late in the first set, but UAB held on to take the opening set 25-19.
Auburn responded quickly in the next set. The Tigers, behind a five-point run that included back-to-back kills from Shanelle Puetz, soon took a 9-4 advantage. Auburn continued to build its momentum with an 8-1 run, increasing the lead to 19-9. Anastasija Ivkovic took off during this set, with three consecutive kills. Auburn hit .353 in the set and held UAB to a .062 hitting percentage before closing out the set 25-16.
Auburn carried that consistency into the third set. Despite starting with two attack errors, the Tigers took an early 6-2 lead. Ivkovic, with two kills and a solo block during the opening stretch, set the tone for the Tigers offense in the third set. Auburn later used a four-point run to build an 18-11 lead and force a UAB timeout. Shortly after, Grace Havlicek added her second ace of the set, and Auburn finished the set 25-18 to take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was more competitive as UAB fought back against Auburn. The Tigers opened with a 6-2 lead, but UAB held its own to tie the set at 13-13. Auburn held on as UAB pulled within one point after Kennedy Vaughn's kill. The Tigers didn't let up and responded by scoring the final five points of the match. Reese Shugart added a kill to begin the run before Auburn finished the set 25-19 and secured the four-set victory.
Ivkovic led Auburn's attack, scoring 13 kills on 19 attacks and hitting .632 with only one error. Shugart ended with a team-high 14 kills, while Kate Mansfield contributed eight kills and eight blocks. Greer Chambless also added nine kills.
Auburn played exceptionally well on defense, with six Tigers recording at least five digs, for a team total of 49 digs compared to UAB’s 41. The Tigers also held the advantage in blocks, 13-10.
Auburn coach Brent Crouch said the team’s adjustments after the first set were crucial for their next 3-set victories.
“Obviously, we didn’t start the way we wanted to, but our changes worked and showed us some tools that we have for conference play,” Crouch said.
With a successful start to Auburn's home schedule, the Tigers will return to Neville Arena at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 to face Samford on the second day of the Alabama Showdown. Samford enters the match after falling to South Alabama 3-0 on Thursday.
