SAVANNAH, Ga. — Senior Liz Markovska managed a team-high 12 kills, while Alexis Dacosta piled up 12 digs. However, it wasn’t quite enough as Auburn (17-11, 7-8) couldn’t chase down Kentucky (23-2, 15-0) in three sets, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22).
Auburn had a difficult time getting into a groove to start the match. A 9-4 run from the Wildcats to open things put the Tigers in a bind early.
At the media break, Kentucky was still hitting below .200, but Auburn’s negative percentage made it difficult to climb out of the hole.
Despite four kills from Markovska, the Wildcats opened the contest with a set win and forced the Orange and Blue to play from behind.
Flipping into a 5-1 in the middle of set No. 2 proved to be the right move, offensively, for head coach Brent Crouch and the Tigers. At the media timeout, Auburn was hitting an even. 400 and had the lead, 15-14.
Fresh off a career-high 20 kills on Saturday, Bel Zimmerman added five more in the second set alone.
Defensively, senior Libero Alexis Dacosta did her best to chase down as many digs as possible from the potent Wildcat attack. By the end of the second set, Dacosta brought her total to eight.
Still, Kentucky found a way to find some breathing room at the end of the frame to force Auburn to play from two sets down for the second straight day.
Once more, the Tigers fought valiantly in the third set.
Junior setter Shannelle Puetz led a balanced offense that saw Markovska pick up five kills, as Lauren Dreves, Zimmerman and Grace Havlicek all picked up three apiece.
A 5-0 run from the Wildcats saw the set flip in favor of Kentucky, but Crouch’s crew countered with a 3-0 run to tie it at 15.
In the end, the Wildcats’ offense, plus four timely blocks, were too much to overcome as Auburn dropped its quarterfinal matchup, 3-0.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head Coach, Brent Crouch
Opening Statement…
“Hats off to Kentucky, they are a great program. There’s a reason they’re ranked as high as they are and are 23-2, and have gone through the conference. This is a great conference. To be 15-0 and now 1-0 in the tournament, what a great program. They played really, really well. I expect them to probably win this thing.
“I liked how we played as the match went on. We started off a little bit slow, but I thought we competed well, especially in the second half of the second set into the third set. I liked how our offense started to go a little bet. Fourteen kills in the second set, 15 in the third, which was pretty close to where Kentucky was. They were 16 and 16. Just had a few hitting errors and they got a couple of blocks and made some good digs. Couldn’t get over the hump to extend the match. I liked how we finished, and I’m hopeful that we did enough for the committee to put us into the Tournament.”
MATCH NOTES
- Bel Zimmerman’s eight digs were a season-high
- Alexis Dacosta (12 digs) reached double digits for the 18th time this season
- Liz Markovska (12 kills) reached double digits for the 20th time this season