LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind 16.5 blocks, Auburn (13-5, 4-3) battled No. 3 Kentucky (13-2, 6-0) toe-to-toe, ultimately falling in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16), on Wednesday night in Memorial Coliseum.
It took a minute for the Tigers to get their groove in the opening set. A 4-0 run from the Wildcats gave the home side the lead by as many as five, 13-8.
Head coach Brent Crouch’s crew was resilient as ever, though. Led by stout passing, the Orange and Blue conjured a 3-0 run for themselves to get back into the frame.
Lauren Dreves led the way with three kills, three digs and a block. Kate Mansfield was right behind with three blocks of her own.
Ultimately, Auburn’s run came up short, forcing the Tigers to play from behind, 1-0.
After hitting just .079 in the opening set, Auburn flipped the script in set two. Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson led the Orange and Blue to a .265 percentage as the Tigers looked to even the score.
Puetz would end the evening with 20 assists and 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Dreves added six kills and Zimmerman another three, but it was Auburn’s defense that made the biggest impact. Strong serving allowed the blockers to set up their wall, and the Tigers weren’t shy about rejecting attacks.
Mansfield, Havlicek, Dreves, Zimmerman and Markovska all earned their fair share of blocks as Auburn piled up 8.5 total in the second set alone. Mansfield’s third block of the night represented the 100th of the season for the sophomore from Plano, Texas.
Meanwhile, Alexis Dacosta and the back row were busy tracking down dig after dig. Dacosta finished with a game-high 16 digs and reached 1,000 for her career.
A timely Lauren Dreves ace had her team the first to 20, and Auburn never looked back, evening the match at one set apiece, 1-1.
Kentucky came out in the third set with a vengeance. The Wildcats led by as many as five, but once again, Crouch’s crew was up for the challenge.
Late in the frame, Auburn powered a 5-0 run, which included two stuffs from Havlicek and Dreves to pull the Tigers within one, 22-21. The rally proved barely too little too late as Kentucky finished off the set to take the 2-1 lead.
Crouch and Co. tried to deliver the same juice in the fourth frame, but the Wildcats had the answer at every turn. Kentucky hit a match-high .419 in the fourth set to create some separation. They wouldn’t let it slip.
Dreves would end with 15 kills, 10 digs and six blocks for her fifth double-double of the season. Zimmerman managed 11 kills of her own, while Mansfield tallied nine blocks to lead the defense. It wasn’t quite enough for Auburn, though, as they fell on the road to the third-ranked Wildcats, 3-1.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head Coach, Brent Crouch
“I thought we did a lot of things well in that match. We asked our hitters to swing a bit more freely. I think they did that. We asked our servers to get more aggressive, and I think we did that too. I’m certainly very happy with where are blocking is at, we just have to find a way to get more kills against teams like Kentucky. Their outsides were able to get kills when they needed to, and I think that was the difference. We’re getting better for sure, it’s just a matter of stacking these performances one after another. We’ve got a great opportunity for that on Sunday.”
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn recorded 16.5 total blocks, marking the 11th time the Tigers have reached double digits this season
- Auburn notched three total aces. The Tigers have had at least three aces in three straight matches
- Lauren Dreves (15 kills, 10 digs) recorded her fifth double-double of the season and has tallied at least 15 kills 10 different times this season
- Kate Mansfield recorded a season-high nine kills. With nine blocks, she has had at least five blocks in 10 straight matches
- Bel Zimmerman (11 kills) reached double digits for the fourth time this season
- Alexis Dacosta (16 digs) has recorded at least 16 digs in three straight matches
- Dacosta also recorded the 1,000th dig of her career
- Liz Markovska (10 digs) reached double digits for the third time this season