Oct. 1, 2006
AUBURN, Ala. -
The Auburn University volleyball team defeated Kentucky, 3-2 (23-30, 28-30, 30-28, 30-24, 15-12) on Sunday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. After being down, 2-0, the Tigers came back to win three-straight games and take the match. With the win, AU improves to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, while Kentucky falls to 9-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference.
Junior Rachel Shanks led the Tigers with 20 kills while adding 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Two other players recorded double-doubles as sophomore Jessica Glover totaled 15 kills and 17 digs, and junior Whitney Jacob had 16 kills and 11 digs. Senior Julie Bosler recorded a career-high 15 kills and blocked eight balls on the day.
"This was a gritty win for our team," head coach Laura Farina said. "We kept working hard and things eventually worked out for us."
In game one, the Tigers fell behind early, 12-5. After closing the gap to 13-11, the Wildcats opened the lead back up to seven and held on for the 30-23 victory.
The Tigers had an early lead in game two, and held it until UK evened it at 12 and took the lead. Auburn squared the game back up at 21, and the two teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the stanza. Tied 28-28, the Wildcats won the final two points for the win and a 2-0 lead. The Tigers hit.263 as a team in the frame, but Kentucky fired kills at a .333 rate.
Auburn and Kentucky traded points early in game three, with neither team pulling away. Tied at 15, AU went on a 5-1 run to open up the game, but UK tied it back up at 22. The Tigers fought ahead and were up 29-26, before back-to-back kills by Melissa Popp brought Kentucky back to within one. Junior Jelena Sekulic recorded one of her 10 kills to give the Tigers a win in game three. Auburn hit .378 as a team in game three, while UK hit .395.
Much like game three, the two sides battled to gain an edge in game four. The Tigers would gain that edge, however, after taking a 16-15 lead that they would not relinquish. AU finished the game on a 7-3 run and took game four, 30-24. Auburn hit .324 during the stanza, and held the Wildcats to just a .118 hitting percentage.
With all of the momentum in favor of the Tigers, AU jumped out to a 10-2 lead in game five. Not to be denied, Kentucky answered with a 9-1 run to tie it at 11. A Sekulic kill gave Auburn a 14-12 lead, and an error by the visitors earned the Tigers the win in game five. AU once again hit .300, while holding Kentucky to a game-low .091.
Auburn will head back out on the road to face Ole Miss on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., CT and Mississippi Sate on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m.