Auburn volleyball (10-2) opens Southeastern Conference play at Arkansas (8-3) tonight, Friday, Sept. 25. First serve is 7 p.m. CT at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., and the match streams on SEC Network+.
The Tigers have won seven straight, including a sweep of last weekend’s Alabama Showdown at Neville Arena, where they beat UAB, Samford and South Alabama, each 3-1. They have kept winning without preseason All-SEC pick Lauren Dreves. Anastasija Ivkovic led the team with 35 kills last weekend and set a career high with 13 against UAB. Middle blocker Grace Havlicek hit .400 and had career highs in kills against both Samford and South Alabama.
Arkansas was picked last of 16 teams in the SEC preseason coaches’ poll and comes in off a 3-0 loss to Illinois, but the Razorbacks block well: they rank second in the SEC in blocks per set. Arkansas leads the all-time series 44-13 and has won 24 of 27 matches in Fayetteville. Auburn won last season’s meeting 3-1 at Neville Arena, and a win tonight would give coach Brent Crouch back-to-back wins over the Razorbacks for the first time.
Auburn went 7-8 in SEC play last season and finished eighth. Five SEC teams are ranked nationally going into conference play: Kentucky (No. 3), Texas (No. 7), Florida (No. 8), Tennessee (No. 13) and Texas A&M (No. 16).
Source: Auburn Athletics
Opelika Daily News — Friday Report, Sept. 25, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
