Sept. 24, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a nine-match road trip the 17th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team will return home to host Ole Miss at Memorial Coliseum Friday night. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

Kentucky (11-1, 1-0) went 8-1 over the last nine matches all of which were played away from the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum. The Blue and White opened the Southeastern Conference slate with a 3-0 sweep of LSU on Sunday. The victory over the Tigers marked the second consecutive season that the Wildcats claimed a sweep of the Western Division foes in Baton Rouge.

UK ranks among the national leaders in three categories. UK is fifth in the nation averaging 14.66 kills per set. The Wildcats are then seventh in the country with 13.52 assists per stanza, while ranking 11th with a .286 hitting percentage. Kentucky leads the SEC in all three categories. Senior setter Sarah Rumely is sixth in the nation with an average of 11.82 assists per set.

Rumely has consistently directed the potent UK offense as four UK players average over two kills per set. A fifth player, sophomore Gretchen Giesler, is just behind that average but she had a break-out performance against LSU on Sunday. Giesler threw down 10 kills to lead the team while also charting a team-high six blocks. In her first season as a starter, Giesler has provided an added spark to UK’s effort as she leads the team with 44 blocks on the year.

Under head coach Craig Skinner in the last four seasons UK has totaled an impressive 44-7 record in Memorial Coliseum. A season-ago the Wildcats went 9-1 at home during the SEC schedule.

Up first for the Wildcats this season is Ole Miss–a team that comes into the match with a 6-6 overall record and an 0-2 clip in the SEC. However, the record can be deceiving as the Rebels took fifth-ranked Florida to five sets before eventually falling last Friday. Kentucky leads the all-time series with a 28-12 mark, but three out of the last four matches between the two schools have needed five sets to determine the outcome.

Katie Norris leads the Ole Miss attack with 4.31 kills per set and Regina Thomas has turned back 53 attacks for a 1.20 block per set average to lead Ole Miss in the early going.

Live stats, live video and a live blog will all be provided by UKathletics.com for the match against Ole Miss. A complete recap will follow upon conclusion of the match.

Match Promotions

• UK Student spirit competition – the UK student organization who shows the most team spirit receives a FREE Nintendo Wii
• FREE admission if you bring a can of food to donate to God’s Pantry
• FREE UK t-shirts for the first 50 UK Students