Oct. 26, 2007
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Seniors Rachel Shanks and Whitney Jacob combined for 31 kills, but could not overcome a Kentucky offense that hit .312 as the Tigers fell 3-1 on Friday.
The Wildcats (18-6, 9-4 SEC) won the first two games, 30-22, 30-25, but Auburn (10-14, 2-11 SEC) bounced back in the third game for a 30-27 win. Kentucky sealed the match win with a 30-15 victory in the fourth game.
"We had some good rallies tonight, but just were not able to overcome some deficits that we fell in to," said head coach Laura Farina. "Kentucky is a tough team and we played them well in two games, but we have to put together a full match to get the win."
The Tigers return to action with a 12:30 p.m. CT matchup at Tennessee on Sunday. The Lady Vols are 9-12, 4-9 SEC after toppling Georgia, 3-0, on Friday.
Rachel Shanks led the team and had its only double-double, finished with 16 kills and 10 digs. Setter Sara Shanks came close with 45 assists and nine digs.
Defensively, Auburn was led by Jelena Sekulic with 13 digs and Jacob with five blocks. Sekulic and Jacob also finished with nine and 15 kills, respectively.
Auburn stayed with the Wildcats for the first half of the opening game, trailing by 16-15 at the mid-way mark. But, Kentucky slowly pulled away and took the lead with the 30-22 win in game one.
After falling behind 21-14 in game two, the Tigers went on an 8-1 run and trailed by one at 23-22, but the Wildcats held on for the 30-25 win. Auburn hit .300 as a team in the game as Glover, Jacob and Rachel Shanks posted four kills each.
In the third game, Auburn bounced back, leading from the start and building its lead to as many as six at the 22-16 mar. The Tigers held off a Wildcat comeback, watching as Kentucky tied the game at 26-26, and sealed the win with Sekulic serving home the 30-27 win.
Rachel Shanks and Jacob led Auburn with six kills each in the win as Davis chipped in four. As a team, Auburn hit .250 in the game.
Kentucky responded in the fourth game, hitting .433 en route to the 30-15 win. Auburn fell behind early as the Wildcats stormed out to a 9-3 lead, a margin the Tigers would never recover from.
NOTES: With her 15 kills in Friday night's match, senior middle blocker Whitney Jacob now has 992 career kills - just eight short of reaching 1,000. . . Jacob also reached a milestone in Friday's match as she stepped on the court in the third game, thereby starting in her 400th career game.