Oct. 8, 2017
Related Links
LEXINGTON, Ky. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 30-32, 25-21) match at No. 10 Kentucky Sunday afternoon in Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers fell to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in Southeastern Conference action.
"We came out very tentative in the first two sets and allowed them to play in system," head coach Rick Nold said. "We picked up our momentum in the third and put Kentucky on their heels. Both teams played very well in the final two sets and it's just one of those things where we need to be better at extending matches at the end."
Senior libero Jesse Earl had another solid performance in the back row for the Tigers, having a match-high 23 digs. It marked her sixth in the last seven matches with 20+ digs. Freshman Payton White joined her in double-digit digs, having 10 on the day.
Four Tigers finished with double-digit kills in the match. Junior Brenna McIlroy totaled 12, while sophomore Shaina White and freshman Anna Stevenson had 11 each. Senior Courtney Crable chipped in 10 for Auburn. Senior setter Alexa Filley finished with 45 assists and nine digs.
Stevenson led the squad defensively at the net, having four blocks. S. White followed with three and Crable and Gwyn Jones each had two. McIlroy led all student-athletes with a season-best three service aces, while Earl added a pair.
Kentucky (14-2, 5-0 SEC) was led by Leah Edmond with 25 kills. Emily Franklin had 12 and setter Madison Lilley finished with a double-double ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 50 assists and 12 digs. Libero Ashley Dusek led the team with 18 digs.
The Wildcats came out with momentum and took a quick 8-1 lead to start the first, forcing an early Auburn timeout. The Tigers responded with a pair of kills by Crable followed by an ace from McIlroy, making it 9-5. UK, however, held its lead from the start and pushed to a 25-19 victory.
Kentucky went up at 4-0 in set two and used a pair of runs, pushing a Tiger timeout leading 11-5. Another long rally for UK made it 18-9 and the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 win.
After a back-and-forth start to the third, the Tigers captured their first lead of the match as a kill from Crable sent AU on a four-point run, 15-13. More kills by Crable made it 18-14 and a Wildcat error forced a UK timeout, 20-15. The home squad regrouped and inched back into the set, making it 22-all. A kill from S. White gave Auburn its first set point, 24-23, but the teams exchanged points and leads in a thrilling end of the set. Finally, a pair of McIlroy kills forced a fourth with Auburn winning 32-30.
The Wildcats pushed an early 10-4 lead with the help of a four-point run, but Auburn responded with a rally of its own highlighted by a trio of blocks and a pair of kills from Stevenson, 11-10 UK. The Wildcats pulled away with a three-point lead, 20-17, and held on to take the match, 25-
Auburn returns to action next weekend first hosting LSU Friday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena Admission is free for the event. The Tigers then head to the state of Texas to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M, Oct. 15, at 1:30 p.m. CT.