The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the No. 25-ranked Auburn Tigers on Wednesday 3-2. It was the Crimson Tide’s first win versus Auburn since 2019.
The Crimson Tide came out firing on all cylinders. Alabama took the lead late in Set 1, 18-17, and held off a late Auburn comeback to win 25-23. Set 2 was all Auburn, as the Tigers never trailed or tied, winning 25-15.
Set 3 was back-and-forth. However, Auburn pulled a late lead at 22-18 and was able to hold off an Alabama comeback, winning 25-22 and taking a 2-1 advantage.
Set 4 was tight, and Alabama won in extra time 26-24.
In Set 5, Alabama came out hot. The team took a 10-6 lead before Auburn came back and made it a 1-point deficit at 13-12. However, Alabama kept its cool, thanks to a Natalie Repetti ace, winning the set 16-14 and taking the game 3-2.
After coming off of two tough losses over the weekend, the team knew that it just needed to be patient and stay levelheaded.
“I know this team. We always had it in us,” senior Chaise Campbell said. “We had been talking about belief all week. I think we are all proud of how hard we worked.”
Campbell had one of her best games of the season, tying for a team-high 15 kills with 17.5 points on 33 total attacks. Setter Kayla Keshock led the team with 26 assists and notched her 3,000th career assist. Outside hitter Sophie Agee led the team with 49 total attacks and tied Campbell with 15 kills.
Despite the recent offensive success, Alabama’s defense stepped up in the clutch.
“I give credit to our defense. They played really well in the final set,” Keshock said. “That’s something we have been focusing on a lot, our backcourt and blocking, and I thought we did a really good job with that.”
Auburn had more blocks than Alabama, 9-7; however, the Crimson Tide had more digs, 82-77, which helped create more chances for the team. Auburn also struggled with turnovers and had nearly double the amount of service errors Alabama had, 15-8.
After the win, head coach Rashinda Reed said she was incredibly proud of how far the team has come.
“We’ve been working on finishing matches at the end these last few practices,” Reed said. “This is something they put their heart and soul into, and it paid off.”
Alabama’s next game will be Sunday, when the Crimson Tide will host the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats. Fans can watch on the SEC Network.
