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Volleyball preview
VOLLEYBALL
Auburn volleyball practicing inside the Student Activities Center as head coach Brent Crouch looks on.
TUCKER CLEVERDON | AUBURN ATHLETICS
By KRISTEN CARR
Sports Writer
Auburn volleyball is returning to the court this fall.
When the Tigers open up their season against The Citadel on Aug. 26, it will be the first time they take the court for a game since Nov. 19, 2020.
Last season, the Tigers’ 2020-21 season was split into a fall and spring conference-only slate. Auburn finished 0-8 last fall, and because of opt-outs and injuries, they did not take part in the spring.
Heading into 2021, Auburn has reloaded its roster with six newcomers, and the schedule has returned to normal with nonconference games and a fall-only slate.
“We have six new incoming players, four freshmen and two transfers,” said head coach Brent Crouch. “So that’s 33% of the team. That’s a lot of new people. So it really feels like a fresh start right now.”
Entering his second season, Crouch is hoping to accomplish goals that he was previously unable to because of the team opting out of the spring season and limitations from COVID-19.
“Our basic goals are to get everything in place,” Crouch said. “On the court, off the court, how we’re going to play, what does practice look like, how hard are we going to work, all of those things we’re trying to get in place, and then we hope to be, once we do, competitive. We expect to win some games this year.”
Fallan Lanham, Jordan Sinness, Kate Curtis, Cassidy Tanton, Rebekah Rath and Liz Reich are the six new players joining the team this fall. Lanham, Sinness, Curtis and Tanton are incoming freshmen, while Rath and Reich transferred from Maryland and Portland, respectively.
Reich, a grad transfer, comes from the University of Portland, where Crouch coached from 2014-17. Reich’s freshman season at Portland was Crouch’s final season as head coach of the Pilots.
“Liz is somebody that is really hard not to like a lot,” Crouch said. “She’s just a very positive person … Having [a player] in here that we know really well and we trust a lot and that the players will love and trust too, I think is just going to help bring people together. She’s a glue person. That’s who she’s going to be. She’s a glue player. She knows how I coach and what we teach, and that’s going to help other people just to see that she knows how to do a lot of that stuff already.”
Reich is not the only player Crouch will lean on for leadership, as Val Green and Bella Rosenthall are two seniors that he thinks positively influence the team. Rosenthall’s competitiveness in both games and practice is something that Crouch appreciates and feels that her fellow players respond to.
Even with Auburn leaning on its upperclassman leaders, Crouch understands that there will still be some growing pains early on in the season. Despite the growing pains, he expects the Tigers to be better than last year.
“We are going to put on a show out there for folks,” Crouch said. “It’s going to be apparent probably early on, but certainly as the season goes on, I expect the team to do a lot better. We’re very excited about the future and this other recruiting class coming in 2022.”
Not only does he see the team being better, but the second-year head coach also wants fans to start to invest in his team.
“I think now is the time to buy stock in Auburn volleyball,” Crouch said. “It’s a good time to jump on board and come to games and get to know players that are young, and we’re going to be young for the next two years, but we’re going to be really good in about three years, so get in on the ground floor.”
The Tigers will kick off their season inside Auburn Arena in the War Eagle Invitational against The Citadel on Aug. 26, at 7 p.m.
Following the opener, they have matches against Tennessee Tech at 10:30 a.m. and Jackson State at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 28.
The matches against The Citadel and Jackson State will air on SEC Network Plus.
