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    Volleyball Hosts Tennessee, No. 11 Kentucky Auburn faces Tennessee on Friday at 4 p.m. and Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
    Lauren Mellor

    Lauren Mellor

    Nov. 12, 2009

    AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers look to rebound from a rough weekend and take on a pair of tough SEC opponents in Tennessee and No. 11 Kentucky this weekend at the Student Activities Center.

    The Tigers face the Lady Volunteers on Friday at 4 p.m. and then take on the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

    "We played a tough match at Tennessee earlier this season and it was really unfortunate that we let it get away from us," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "They are a tough team but beatable and we're looking forward to playing them at home."

    "Kentucky is one of the best teams in the country right now and they lead the SEC," Benson said. "I'm anxious to see how much our team has grown and how they match up."

    AUBURN FALLS TO 14-12 ON SEASON
    The Auburn volleyball squad dropped a pair of SEC road matches last weekend to fall to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the SEC.

    The Tigers lost a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21) match at South Carolina on Friday evening. Junior Jonelle Wallace had a season-best nine kills on the night, while classmate Morgan Johns finished with eight kills. Libero Liz Crouch had a match-high 19 digs and freshman Sarah Bullock tallied 12 digs for Auburn.

    The Tigers traveled to No.9 Florida on Sunday afternoon and dropped a 3-0 match (15-25, 18-25, 13-25). Sophomore Kelly Fidero picked up nine kills and two service aces on the day, while Bullock finished with eight kills and eight digs for Auburn. Crouch added seven digs and classmate Sara Shanks had 16 assists.

    TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEERS
    The Lady Vols come to Auburn with an overall record of 19-6 and 12-3 record in the SEC. Tennessee picked up a pair of sweeps over Mississippi State and Alabama last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn.

     

     

    Junior Nikki Fowler is fifth in the conference with 328 total kills, while teammate Farren Powe is third with a 1.22 blocks per set average. Libero Chloe Goldman leads the SEC with a 4.75 digs per set average and has a conference-best 432 total digs on the season.

    KENTUCKY WILDCATS
    The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 24-2 overall record and are 14-1 in conference play. The squad is coming off a pair of wins over Alabama (3-1) and Mississippi State (3-0) last weekend.

    Sarah Mendoza leads the squad and the SEC with 413 total kills and has a .264 attack percentage. Setter Sarah Rumely averages a SEC-best 11.85 assists per set and libero BriAnne Sauer is third in the conference with a 4.47 digs per set average.

    LAST TIME...
    Auburn traveled to Kentucky on Oct. 9 and fell to the nationally-ranked Wildcats, 3-0. Sarah Bullock and Morgan Johns led the squad with eight kills. Liz Crouch finished with a match-high 12 digs, while Katherine Culwell had nine digs for the Tigers.

    Auburn battled Tennessee, but dropped a hard-fought match, 3-0, on Oct. 11 in Knoxville. Junior Lauren Mellor tied a career-high with 11 kills and had six digs. Setter Sara Shanks picked up her first double-double of the season with 24 assists and 10 digs. Bullock and Crouch also finished with 10 digs on the day.

    UP NEXT
    The Tigers head out on their last roadtrip of the regular season, traveling to Arkansas on Nov. 20 for a 7 p.m. match. Auburn then faces Ole Miss on Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Oxford, Miss.

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