LEXINGTON, Ky. – Akasha Anderson found another 14 kills on Saturday and Auburn's assertive serving had the Tigers scoring in bunches at times but it wasn't enough to outrun No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday as the Wildcats claimed the win, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16).
Much like Wednesday night against Florida, both teams started the match off strong from the offensive end. Midway through the opening set, Auburn was hitting north of .300 but so were the Wildcats.
Junior middle blocker Chelsey Harmon powered down two quick kills and freshman Zoe Slaughter added an ace to keep things tied at 12.
The Tigers continued to have plenty of success at the night. Akasha Anderson tallied up six kills and fellow freshman Madison Scheer grabbed four of her own.
Aggressive serving from Fallan Lanham led to three straight points and a Kentucky timeout. In the end, a .516 hitting percentage from the Wildcats was too much to outrun for Auburn as Kentucky took the early lead.
The Orange and Blue block popped up in the early parts of the second set. Auburn ran off a 4-0 scoring blitz via blocks from Harmon, Anderson and a solo effort from Bel Zimmerman.
Libero Sarah Morton secured a pair of aces to pull the Tigers within a couple to keep it close midway through the frame. Another strong hitting number from Kentucky, however, created a hole too deep for Auburn to dig out of.
Harmon showcased her versatility early in the third. The Puyallup, Washington native came up with a pair of impressive digs to go along with five kills on the afternoon.
Anderson added another four kills in the third. The Reston, Virginia native would finish with a team-high 14 on Saturday.
Scheer also ended the afternoon with an efficient eight kills on .286 hitting. Short runs at the beginning, middle and the end of the set from Kentucky gave the Wildcats a lead they wouldn't relinquish, claiming the first of two matches over the weekend.
MATCH NOTES
- Sarah Morton (NUMBER) grabbed at least 10 digs for the 20th match this season
- Chelsey Harmon's two digs matched her season high
- Kendal Kemp's two blocks give her 119 on the season, tying Camila Jersonsky for the second-most in school history
UP NEXT
Auburn will turn around a play the Wildcats one more time on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Noon CT. The Tigers will be back home on Saturday, Nov. 5 for the first of two versus Texas A&M.