Sept. 23, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off a victory over South Carolina that saw Kentucky hit a season-best .328 and have four players strike for more than 10 kills the Blue and White will hit the road in Southeastern Conference play for the first time this season. Kentucky travels to Auburn on Friday for an 8 p.m. ET first serve during the first leg of the road trip.
Freshman setter Elizabeth Koberstein made her first career start in the victory over South Carolina. Koberstein was sensational in her first complete action, dishing out a UK season-high 48 assists and leading UK (7-5, 1-1) to a season-best .328 hitting percentage. UK’s 58 kills in the match are the most in a four-set match this season. Four UK attackers registered over 10 kills and two players posted .330 hitting clips or better. Koberstein was also terrific in her dispersal of the ball as all four players with 10 or more kills had between 26 and 28 total attempts.
Junior Ann Armes charted her first career double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs in the win. Armes enjoyed an outstanding weekend as in addition to her first double-double she had a career-high 16 kills against No. 3 Florida.
Auburn enters the matchup with the Blue and White possessing a 10-4 overall record and a 1-1 clip in SEC action. UK leads the series with Auburn 27-9 and has won the last seven matches in the series.
The Tigers hold a balanced offensive attack with four players registering 2.10 kills or more per set. Auburn charts 13.08 kills per frame on a .253 hitting percentage. Liz Crouch leads the defensive effort with 4.02 digs per set. Additionally, Auburn is turning back 2.20 opponent attacks per set.
In the last meeting between the two teams, a season-high 15 blocks enabled the then 11th ranked Wildcats to fend off Auburn for a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-12) road victory on Nov. 15, 2009.
With the win Kentucky matched its win total from 2008 behind a season-high 15 blocks led by Gretchen Giesler’s career-best 10 total. Blaire Hiler equaled her then career-high with 14 kills and added five blocks in UK’s win. Lauren Rapp contributed eight kills and Becky Pavan matched that total.
Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.
