TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Auburn volleyball hit the road Wednesday night for its penultimate match of the 2026 regular season, a rivalry showdown in Tuscaloosa with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Despite taking Set 1 in dominant fashion, the Tigers fell behind and lost the match 3-1 (25-13, 16-25, 20-25, 18-25).
Brent Crouch’s squad looked like they were cruising in the opening set, streaking to a 23-10 lead thanks to a 11-0 scoring run led by junior outside hitter Belle Patrick and a myriad of Alabama attack errors. From there, Auburn was able to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead to start the match.
However, from then on it was all Alabama. Despite hitting just .043 in Set 1, the Crimson Tide posted hitting percentages of .344, .303, and .357 to stamp their authority on the remainder of the match. Alabama’s block simultaneously suffocated the Tigers, recording a 10-block night that included a five-block fourth set to end things.
Alabama was led by sophomore outside hitter Mya Allen, who recorded 17 kills to lead the Crimson Tide. That mark is the second highest of the season for the St. Mary’s transfer. Freshman middle Aubrey Simpson was also crucial for the Tide, notching a career-high in blocks (7), kills (5), and points (8.5) in a true breakout performance.
As for the Tigers, Auburn’s offense struggled to find consistent rhythm after the first set, frequently falling victim to the Alabama block and struggling to find any form of right-side attack across from Patrick, who led the Tigers in kills with 14.
The next-highest marks for Auburn came from Anastasija Ivkovic, Kate Mansfield, and Emma Moore, with eight, six, and six, respectively. The Tigers’ hitting percentage also cratered in the final three sets, with marks of .081, .162, and .118, leaving Auburn with a .158 percentage for the match.
Blocking was another issue for the Tigers against the Tide. Despite entering the match with the second-highest blocks-per-set mark in the SEC, Auburn posted just four total blocks in the match, the Tigers’ second-lowest total in SEC play this season (Tennessee).
The loss will be tough to swallow for the Tigers, who have struggled to find a consistent rhythm this season because of injury luck and off-court issues surrounding junior outside hitter Lauren Dreves, who was dismissed from the team on Wednesday, according to Auburn.
Alabama’s win over the Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Tide dating back to Oct. 9 against South Carolina, adding further salt into the wound of the rivalry loss. Additionally, Auburn has now lost two consecutive matches in Tuscaloosa, something that had not happened since the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
Auburn has one final chance to notch a win before the SEC Volleyball Tournament in Savannah, Georgia, which starts Nov. 20. That chance comes Sunday in Starkville, Mississippi, as the Tigers take on Mississippi State at 2 p.m. CDT in the Newell-Grissom Building.
