Sept. 23, 2005
Lexington, Ky. - Auburn picked up its first conference win and seventh overall as the group swept Kentucky, 30-28, 30-26, 30-20 in Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers improve to 7-3, 1-1 on the season and the Wildcats fall to 7-4, 0-1.
For the second consecutive year, Auburn collected a win at Kentucky; tonight it only took three games (last season AU won, 3-1). AU head coach Laura Farina now moves to 3-2 versus the Wildcats.
"We knew coming in that they are an improved team from last season," Farina said. "They are coming off a good pre-conference schedule with some nice wins over good competition. We were pretty fortunate to win this match and I think we just gutted it out at the right times. They have some nice players and I expect that they will improve dramatically over the SEC season."
AU's offense was led by Rachel Shanks with 13 kills on 28 attempts (.328) and just four errors. Jennifer Amobi also contributed 11 kills on 34 attempts. For the fourth consecutive match, Bailey Veit led AU with18 digs. Julie Bosler contributed seven blocks and five kills.
"I think Whitney Jacob stepped for us in game one when we were down 28-24," Farina said. "She served through the point and got the momentum going for us and we were able to pull it out. I also think Joanna set a very balanced attack after she settled down after game one. Our hitters as a whole did a better job of managing the ball."
The second half of game one showed 10 tied situations but the Tigers came out on top, 30-28. Shanks put the Tigers up 29-28 with a kill and UK's Leigh Marcum forced the error to give AU game one. Auburn was led by Shanks and Amobi, each with four kills. Veit had seven digs and Joanna Pappas assisted 13 time's.
The Tigers closed out the second game with kills from Pappas and Bosler to secure game two, 30-26. Amobi recorded five kills on 13 attempts and Bosler blocked four to lead the AU charge. Veit contributed five digs and Pappas turned in 14 assists.
Auburn dominated the third game to take the win, leading by as much as 13 late in the game. Shanks put a close to the match with a kill in game three, 30-20.
Auburn returns home on Sept. 30 for another conference match against Arkansas at 7 p.m. The Tigers continue play on Oct. 2 versus LSU at 1 p.m. All AU home matches are held in the Student Activities and live stats are available on www.auburntigers.com