Auburn volleyball hosted No. 13 Kentucky in a top 25 matchup Wednesday night after being on the road for the past few weeks. Kentucky came away with the victory over the Tigers in three straight sets (25-14, 25-11, 25-14).
Auburn seemed to struggle with serve receive consistently throughout the match. Kentucky prevailed in this aspect of the game with 10 service aces which ultimately led to straight set wins.
Early in the first set it was clear that the Tigers were struggling to get good passes to the setter, leaving the offense weak. Kentucky capitalized on this with good defense and the ability to put the ball down. Auburn was unable to hold on toward the end of the set, losing 25-14.
Crouch acknowledged this inconsistency in serve receive stating, “We are in the lower half of the conference in receiving, while they are in the upper half in serving.”
Crouch continued and made it clear that this was something the Tigers will continue to work on and get better at.
Going into the second set, Auburn's serve receive was still struggling and Kentucky was not holding back behind the service line. Auburn's hitters, Bella Bell and Kyla Swanson, were heating up at the net with a combined four kills. However, Auburn's defense could not keep the ball alive, ending the set 25-11.
The third set was neck and neck at the beginning, with Auburn's defense picking up. As the momentum picked up, Auburn was unable to win crucial rallies. Kentucky's Brooklyn DeLeye was unstoppable from the back row, putting the ball down three times in this set. Swanson kept up with DeLeye with three more kills in this set, but it was not enough to bring Auburn a victory. Auburn lost this set 25-14.
Crouch harped on Auburn’s youth after the game.
"I thought some players probably underperformed here and there, some of the young ones," Crouch said. "We are on this journey to get where Kentucky and Arkansas are. The main area that we’ve got to improve in is just general ball control stuff."
He praised his older players Bell and Swanson for showing their seniority and playing to the best of their ability against Kentucky.
Swanson had seven kills and Bell had five, while Kentucky’s top scorer had 15 points on the night. Auburn also had a combined 27 digs, while Kentucky had 46, almost double the Tigers.
Despite Auburn’s 3-0 loss, it was a record-breaking night in Neville Arena. The Auburn Family showed up and showed out in this top 25 matchup with an attendance of 2,529, making this the most attended volleyball game in Auburn history.
When Crouch was informed of the big crowd, he defended his players by saying they were over excited for a moment like this.
“Hopefully the Auburn Family will stick with us during these growing pains,” Crouch said.
Auburn volleyball will be traveling to Columbia, Missouri, next to take on the Missouri Tigers in hopes of regaining a win. This game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 3 p.m. CST and will be televised on SEC Network+.
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Madelyn Marsh is a freshman from Castroville, Texas, who is majoring in journalism. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
