AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 24 Auburn Tigers (18-5, 8-4) are finally back on the Plains, hosting the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats (13-7, 11-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. CT and admission is free. The first 250 fans inside Neville Arena will receive a free AU Volleyball Tumbler. A pair of Iron Bowl tickets are also up for grabs in a raffle as well as several other giveaways throughout the evening.
QUICK HITS
The Tigers came in at No. 24 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Coaches Poll, marking the 10th straight week Auburn has appeared in the Top 25.
Wednesday's match will also signal the second top-25 matchup in Neville Arena history. The Tigers went toe-to-toe with then-No. 3 Florida in a dramatic five-set thriller back on Sept. 22 of this year.
Speaking of five sets, Brent Crouch's teams have seen remarkable success when going the distance. This season, the Orange and Blue are 5-1 in five-set matches and 11-4 over the last two seasons. Crouch is 14-10 since arriving on the Plains and 41-32 over the course of his career.
During Auburn's latest five-set win at Texas A&M, the Tigers out-blocked the best blocking team in the SEC thanks to the three-headed monster of Kendal Kemp (8), Bella Bell (6) and Kyla Swanson (4). Kemp's 1.31 blocks per set ranks third in the conference and No. 26 in the country. Both Kemp and Swanson have now stacked up over 100 rejections throughout the season.
Offensively, the trio was just as productive. Kemp grabbed nine kills on .500 hitting, Swanson snagged eight kills on .413 and Bell put down 11 kills on .429.
As a team, the Tigers' 2.53 blocks per set are second in the SEC and No. 32 in the nation. Auburn also ranks second in the SEC total blocks (233).
The Tigers' back row wasn't going to be outdone. Paige Thibault (11), Zoe Slaughter (11) and Sarah Morton (15) all reached double figures in dig totals against the Aggies.
LAST TIME OUT VS KENTUCKY
Akasha Anderson tallied double-digit kills in back-to-back matches against the Wildcats a season ago. However, Auburn was unable to come away with a win in two tough matchups in Lexington.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
Kentucky hasn't put up an 'L' in the loss column for almost a month. Since falling to Tennessee on the second night of SEC play, the Wildcats have rattled off 10 consecutive wins as Craig Skinner seems to be pushing the right buttons in his 19th year at the helm of the program.
Junior setter Emma Grome is coming off her fifth SEC Setter of the Week honors and third SEC Player of the Week award of 2023. Grome averaged 12.63 assists per set and delivered an ace in both of Kentucky's wins over the weekend. The Loveland, Ohio native ranks first in the SEC in assists per set (11.88) and third in the country.
Fifth-year middle blocker Azhani Tealer hasn't slowed down in her final year in Lexington. Tealer's .387 hitting percentage leads the conference and ranks 36th in the nation.
On the outsides, the Wildcats are riding the efforts of senior Reagan Rutherford and freshman Brooklyn DeLeye. Rutherford is bringing in 3.45 kills per set while the rookie is right behind at 3.44.
Don't sleep on libero Eleanor Beavin either. At 3.95 digs per set, Beavin is fifth-best in the conference.
AUBURN-KENTUCKY SERIES
Kentucky enters Wednesday's matchup with a 48-10 record and has won each of the last 21 contests. A win over the Wildcats would be the first since 2010.
UP NEXT
Crouch and the Tigers head back out on the road on Sunday, Nov. 12 for a date with Missouri in Columbia. Auburn will be back home for the final three matches of the season, beginning on Sunday, Nov. 19 when the team hosts LSU for Military Appreciation Day.
No. 24 Auburn Volleyball hosts No. 13 Kentucky in latest SEC showdown
