Oct. 5, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Playing one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference, the Auburn volleyball team (5-12, 0-6 SEC) forced Kentucky (15-2, 6-0 SEC) to extra points in two sets, but could not close out the win in the 3-0 (24-26, 18-25, 26-28) loss at UK's Memorial Coliseum.
"We played well, we had moments when we were very solid, we mixed it up pretty well and they never got a great read on us," said head coach Wade Benson. "We were in the lead in two of those sets and had great opportunities to push it, but Kentucky made some great plays to get back in it and get the win."
In the first set, Auburn fell behind early but caught back up and tied the match at 24-24 before UK was able to pull away for the 26-24 win. The Tigers stayed with the Wildcats through the first part of the second set, but a 7-2 Kentucky run gave the team the spark it needed for the 25-18 win, its largest margin of victory in the match.
Auburn bounced back in the third set and was even at set point at the 25-24 mark, but the Wildcats were able to capitalize on a pair of Tiger errors for the 28-26 win.
Senior Jessica Glover led the team with 11 kills in the match while sophomore Alyssa Davis gave the Tigers eight kills off the bench. Davis and Sara Shanks, who finished the match with 21 assists, also combined for two blocks to lead the Tigers
Defensively for Auburn it was Milena Bukinac, starting for just the second time at libero, leading the team with 18 digs. Kaitlin Simon and Glover followed with five digs each.
For Kentucky, it was Lauren Rapp leading the team with 11 kills and six blocks. Becky Paven also tallied six blocks along with her eight kills. Libero BriAnne Sauer led Kentucky in digs with nine.
"It was not a bad loss for us, we gained a lot of respect from our opponents," said Benson. "We are going to get back in the gym on Monday and go back at it. We made some changes and now the team is calming down and getting used to those changes and we are moving forward."
Auburn was also playing without regular libero Liz Crouch for the second week in a row as she recovers from an injury. She is expected to return to the lineup on Friday against Georgia.
"Not having our libero is not easy for any team to overcome," said Benson. "I thought we did pretty good without her today, but we are going to be better with her."
Auburn returns to action Oct. 10 with a home match against Georgia. The match, set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Student Activities Center, is Auburn's first home match in two weeks. It will be "All Auburn, All Orange" night at the Student Act and the first 300 fans through the door will receive Auburn volleyball sweatbands, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.
UK jumped out quick on the Tigers in the first set, scoring the first three points and eventually taking a five-point lead at the 17-12 mark. Auburn came back, capitalizing on Wildcat errors, and tied the match at 19-19. AU tied it again at 24-24 before UK's Becky Pavan stepped up for a kill and a block to give the Wildcats the 26-24 win.
Alyssa Davis led Auburn in the opening set, picking up four kills and two blocks. Milena Bukinac, starting for just the second time at libero, led all players with seven digs in the set.
Auburn stayed with Kentucky through the first part of the second set, taking the early lead. UK came back to tie the set at 7-7, and went on a 7-2 run to take a lead it would not give up en route to the 25-18 win.
Jessica Glover led Auburn with five kills in the set, followed by four from Olympia Haney. Bukinac again posted seven digs in the set to lead all players.
Auburn had a chance to pick up a win in the third set, reaching match point at the 25-24 mark. The match would be tied two more times before a Brooke Bartek kill and an Auburn service error gave the Wildcats the 28-26 win.
Glover and Davis each had three kills in the set to lead the Tigers while Bukinac picked up another four digs.