LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Auburn volleyball team capped the 2018 season on the road at No. 11 and SEC Champion Kentucky Saturday afternoon, falling to the Wildcats in three sets (25-12, 25-22, 25-19) in Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers closed out the year with a 12-16 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
"It was definitely a year of growth for our young team," head coach Rick Nold said. "I'm proud of the way we battled after that first set and am looking forward to the future of our program."
Sophomore Anna Stevenson led the Tigers with 10 kills, while senior Brenna McIlroy finished with nine. Sophomore Chesney McClellan and junior Gwyn Jones added five kills apiece. Freshman setter Mica Allison totaled 30 assists.
The Tiger defense finished with five blocks on the day. Freshman Tatum Shipes had her hand on three, while McClellan and Stevenson had two each. Freshman libero Bella Rosenthall and McIlroy finished with seven digs apiece.
Kentucky (24-4, 18-0) was led by Leah Edmond with 16 kills. Setter Madison Lilley had 37 assists, while libero Gabby Curry finished with 13 digs.
Kentucky took hold of momentum early in the first, going up 4-2 on the Tigers. A Stevenson kill locked the set at 6-all before the Wildcats responded with a nine-point push to go up 15-6. A handful of small runs closed out the set for the home team, 25-12.
Auburn regrouped and jumped out with a 5-1 advantage with the help of back-to-back kills from McIlroy. More kills from McIlroy lifted the Tigers to a 13-7 lead before the Wildcats started chipping away at the AU advantage. The home squad locked the set at 18-all and pushed ahead at 21-20. Kills from Jones and Stevenson moved the Tigers up, 22-21, but UK closed out the set with a four-point push for the 25-22 victory.
Kills from Stevenson and Rosenthall locked the third at 4-all, but a pair of Wildcat pushes gave Kentucky a 10-7 advantage. Another long run for UK made it 14-9, forcing an Auburn timeout. The Tigers picked up a pair of two-point runs behind strong play from the middle to come within four at 17-13 and solo stuff by Shipes made it 20-16. The Wildcats, however, held on to their lead and took the match, 25-19.