AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball took its first loss in Southeastern Conference play on Friday night, losing 3-1 to No. 3 Kentucky. The Wildcats dominated the opening two sets, forcing Auburn errors from everywhere. Auburn rallied to play one of its best sets of the season to win set three. But Kentucky returned to prominence in set four to seal the victory.
Kentucky's three-headed monster on attack each recorded double-digit kills. Brooklyn DeLeye led the way with 22 kills. Georgia Watson and Asia Thigpen each had 14 kills while hitting above .350. DeLeye and Thigpen each had double-doubles.
Kentucky's three-headed monster on attack each recorded double-digit kills. Brooklyn DeLeye led the way with 22 kills. Georgia Watson and Asia Thigpen each had 14 kills while hitting above .350. DeLeye and Thigpen each had double-doubles.
Kentucky led 15-12 heading into the media timeout of the opening set, but Auburn looked to turn the set around with three straight points to tie at 15-15. Kentucky immediately responded with a 10-1 run with eight earned points to shut down any chance of an Auburn upset in the opening set.
After Auburn won four straight points to take a short lead early in the second set, Kentucky went on a 10-2 run, forcing Auburn to use its second timeout of the set at 12-6. The Tigers put together a five-point run, highlighted by back-to-back Grace Havlicek aces, pulling within two points at 16-14. The Wildcats went on another dominant stretch, winning seven of eight consecutive points for a 23-15 lead. Kentucky won the set on an attack error by Auburn's Belle Patrick.
The Tigers won the first two points of the set, then immediately fell behind with six-straight kills by Kentucky to take a 6-2 lead. Auburn chipped away at the Wildcat lead quickly, tying the set at 9-9. Kentucky narrowly pulled ahead again, taking multiple three-point leads, all thwarted by Auburn. After eight-straight ties, Auburn got to set point on a Kentucky service error, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout. Out of the break, Kentucky failed to get a third contact over the net, clinching the set for Auburn on an Emily Keiran ace.
Set four finished as sets one and two did: with a large Kentucky run, pulling away from Auburn. Kentucky led by just one at 14-13 but went on a 6-1 run to force an Auburn timeout. The Wildcats won five of the final seven points to seal the match in four sets. Kentucky ended the set on an 11-4 run.
NOTABLES
- Auburn's win streak ends at eight matches, tied for the fifth-longest in program history.
- Anastasija Ivkovic tied her career-high with seven blocks.
TIGER STANDOUTS
- Ivkovic was the one efficient Tiger all night, hitting .421 with nine kills and just one error on 19 attempts. Ivkovic was great on the other side of the net, tying her career high with seven blocks.
- Kate Mansfield led Auburn with eight blocks, tying her season high.
- Patrick's 15 kills led Auburn.
- Grace Havlicek had five blocks and two aces.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
- "We gave them too many free points all night long. Too many attack and receive errors in the first two sets. Everything came together in the third set: we hit well, we blocked well, we served well. But then just simply beaten in the fourth set. That's a great team on the other side of the court, and we've got to be better in such big games, but we saw what we're capable of in that third set.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers make a quick turnaround to host another ranked team in No. 11 Tennessee. The Volunteers visit Neville Arena for a 2 p.m. CT match on Sunday, Oct. 4.
—War Eagle—