Nov. 18, 2007
BATON ROUGE, La. - Playing in their last match as a Tiger, Auburn's senior trio of Whitney Jacob, Jelena Sekulic and Rachel Shanks accounted for 41 of Auburn's 53 kills, but it was not enough as LSU (24-6, 15-5 SEC) pulled away for the 3-0 win.
Auburn finishes the season with an 11-20 record, 3-17 in SEC play.
Shanks led the team with 16 kills and 23 digs in the match and was the only Tiger to finish with a double-double. Jacob and Sekulic followed with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
"They played like seniors in their final match and you come close, just a few points at the crucial times to turn it to keep it in our favor, but it just didn't happen," said head coach Laura Farina. "Rachel and Whitney had magnificent matches today along with Jelena, who is the passionate, emotional leader of the team. They leave big shoes to fill for next year."
Freshman libero Liz Crouch finished behind Shanks with 16 digs, giving her 392 for the season. That mark ranks fourth all-time at Auburn in single-season digs.
Auburn was close late in each of the three games, but LSU was able to pull away each time for the win.
"It's the story of the season - we play very good volleyball and then we struggle to execute to 30," said Farina. "I'm proud of how the team fought through this year and the way they finished."
Auburn and LSU went shot-for-shot for the first half of game one before LSU pulled away for the 30-23 win. Auburn held its last lead at 17-16 before LSU went on an 8-1 run to take a 24-18 lead. AU could not recover from the six-point deficit as LSU took the 1-0 lead in the match.
Rachel Shanks and Sekulic teamed up on LSU and accounted for 13 of Auburn's 16 kills in the opening game.
Auburn again stayed with LSU through the first half of the second game, but LSU again pulled away and led by as many as five at 27-22. Auburn did not give up, though, and battled back to 28-29, but a Kyna Washington kill gave LSU the 30-28 win.
Jacob led Auburn with six kills in the game while Rachel Shanks picked up four more for 11 in the match.
Auburn came out strong out of the break and led by three at 18-15, but LSU fought back into the match with a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. The Bayou Bengals would not look back as LSU went on for the 30-24 win and 3-0 match win.
Rachel Shanks and Jacob each had five kills in the game.