April 6, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the second consecutive weekend the Kentucky volleyball team dominated spring action with a 3-0 weekend at the Ohio Valley Volleyball Center Spring College Tournament hosted in Louisville. Kentucky rung up wins over NCAA participant Saint Louis, Notre Dame and Murray State to remain perfect in spring play.
The Wildcats were on fire offensively with a combined three-match hitting percentage of .311. Four players combined for 10 or more kills in the three two-set matches.
Kentucky opened the day with a 25-14, 25-12 victory over Murray State. They followed that performance with a 25-16 and 25-23 win over Big East member Notre Dame.
The match of the day was between the Wildcats and Saint Louis who were both members of the Lexington Regional in the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament in December. Kentucky dismantled the Billikens by the tune of 25-18 and 25-19 to cruise to the perfect weekend.
Junior setter Sarah Rumely guided the Kentucky offense to a .338 attacking percentage against the Billikens in the win over the NCAA participants.
Sophomore Lauren Rapp and freshman Becky Pavan were incredible this weekend. Rapp posted a combined effort of 17 kills on a .406 hitting percentage. She added nine blocks and three aces. Pavan hit a team-high .589 and tallied 11 kills on the weekend and matched Rapp’s nine blocks.
Sophomore Sarah Mendoza added 15 kills, five blocks and an ace. Junior Brooke Bartek was the other UK player in the double-figure margin with 13 kills. Freshman Ann Armes chipped in with seven kills and an impressive .400 average. Sophomore Blaire Hiler saw her first action of the spring and contributed three kills on the weekend.
UK will host its spring tournament at Memorial Coliseum on April 11th. The Wildcats will entertain Marshall and Cincinnati in their lone home action of the season. Each team will play one another once in a round-robin three-match affair. Kentucky plays Marshall at 1 p.m., followed by the Thundering Herd and Cincinnati at 2:30. Kentucky and the Bearcats will meet in the final match at approximately 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the action this Saturday. Admission is free.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for more information on the Kentucky volleyball team.
