AUBURN, Ala. – A strong blocking performance from the Tigers came up short as the Auburn volleyball team (6-17, 0-12 SEC) fell to No. 18 Kentucky, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-17), Sunday at Auburn Arena.
Junior Jaeden Brown led Auburn with seven kills. Sophomore Tatum Shipes recorded a team-high 10.0 total points behind six kills and four blocks. Senior Shania White added five kills and a team-leading five blocks in the contest as Auburn closed the afternoon with 8 team stops at the net.
Sophomore Marissa Hines earned the start at setter, recording 15 assists in the contest.
Three Tigers turned in double-digit dig performances with sophomore Bella Rosenthall leading the way with 13. Shipes finished with double-digit digs for the second straight match with 12. Junior Payton White rounded out the defense with 10 digs.
Kentucky (18-6, 11-2 SEC) was led by Leah Edmond, who closed the night with a match-high 13 kills. Alli Stumbler added 10 kills for the Wildcats. Madison Lilley tallied 31 assists. Gabby Curry led the defense with 18 digs.
Auburn faces another ranked opponent on Wednesday as the Tigers travel to College Station, Texas, to face No. 25 Texas A&M at 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
SET ONE
Auburn opened the set strong with help of four blocks, including three from Shipes, to take a 10-6 lead. Kentucky battled back with a couple runs to take a 15-13 edge into the media timeout. The Wildcats continued the pressure out of the timeout with help of an 8-0 run to claim a 25-17 victory.
SET TWO
A kill from Shipes and two Kentucky attacking errors gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead to open the second set. Auburn would hold on to its lead until the midway point of the match before an 8-0 Kentucky run gave the Wildcats a lead that they would not relinquish, winning the set by a 25-15 final.
SET THREE
Kentucky stormed out to a 3-0 lead, but Auburn battled back to lock the set up at 7-all. The Wildcats regained the lead with help of a 5-0 lead and would carry that to a 25-17 set three victory.