Oct. 30, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a dominating 3-0 victory over Georgia on Friday night, the UK volleyball team returns to action with a home contest against Auburn on Sunday. Match time is set for 1 p.m. ET. The match will air live on Fox Sports South with Dave Baker and Phil Bush on the call.
Kentucky (12-11, 6-7 SEC) was ignited by a stifling defensive front in the win over Georgia. The Blue and White posted a season-high 15.5 blocks for a three-set match against the Bulldogs. Junior Gretchen Giesler led the way with six blocks to lead five UK players with three or more rejections.
Freshman Whitney Billings paced the offense with 10 kills on .250 hitting. Kentucky limited the Bulldogs to a negative hitting percentage to go along with the 15 points scored on turn-backs.
Senior Lauren Rapp is closing in on two milestones. Rapp needs just eight more kills to move into 10th all-time on UK’s list of career kills leaders. Rapp currently has 1,189 hammers and is chasing Gina Heustis’ 1,197. The senior from Indianapolis, Ind., also needs just six more block assists to reach 400 block assists for her career. That total will rank second all-time UK allure.
Auburn owns a 16-9 overall mark and a 7-6 record in league action. The Tigers rank third in league standings in the Western Division. Sarah Bullcok’s 2.92 kills per set lead a team average of 12.85. Liz Crouch remains steady for the back-line defense with an average of 3.90 digs per stanza, while Bullock adds 2.77 scoops as well.
Kentucky holds a 27-10 all-time record against the Tigers. However, Auburn snapped a seven-match winning streak by the Wildcats with a wild five-set victory in Auburn earlier this season.A balanced offensive attack and a tremendous blocking effort from Billings was not enough as Auburn earned a 3-2 (25-27, 25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12) win over then ranked No. 24 Kentucky.
Billings earned a career-best eight blocks while also leading the team with 13 kills in the loss. The freshman had three solo rejections and five block assists. Kentucky had four players record 10 or more kills for the second consecutive match, but Auburn capitalized on 16 service errors and just a .162 attacking clip from the Blue and White to pull off the thrilling five-set upset.
Rapp had 13 kills on .333 hitting. Senior Blaire Hiler totaled 11 kills with junior Ann Armes chipping in with 10. Freshman setter Elizabeth Koberstein dished out 48 assists for the second straight match while sophomore Stephanie Klefot had a match-high 17 digs. Junior Becky Pavan totaled five kills and added seven blocks for the Wildcats.
Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.
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