Aug. 29, 2008
LEXIGNTON, Ky. –
Trailing 13-10 in the fifth and deciding set, Kentucky sophomores Blaire Hiler and Sarah Mendoza combined for five kills to help overcome a tenacious Pittsburgh squad and claim the first victory of the season by a 3-2 margin.
With the Wildcats behind by three, senior Queen Nzenwa took a pass from junior Sarah Rumely and put down a hammer to begin the rally for the home squad. Pittsburgh followed with a kill of its own to take a two-point edge with the match point on the line. Mendoza came through with back-to-back match-point savers to make the score 15-14 in favor of the visitors. The third Mendoza kill of the late rally knotted the score at 15 a piece. The two teams would then trade points until Kentucky took hold of a 20-19 advantage.
Sophomore Laura Stokowski began the serve which Pittsburgh returned into the waiting arms of an Nzenwa and Mendoza rejection to cap off the thrilling come-from-behind victory.
“It was a real roller coaster of a match,” said Kentucky coach Craig Skinner. “I thought our team showed some toughness to finish the match with a win after struggling during the fourth set.”
After dropping the first set by a 25-23 score, UK claimed the second and third sets in dominating fashion. The Wildcats earned 25-19, and 25-14, set wins to take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Lauren Rapp enjoyed a .500 hitting clip on six kills in the second set to lead the Wildcats. In the third set, it was Nzenwa leading the offensive attack with three kills in the frame.
Pittsburgh rallied in the fourth to force a deciding set. After evening the score at 20, Kentucky would only score two points the rest of the way as the Panthers claimed a three-point win.
“Pittsburgh is a good team,” Skinner said. “They are going to win a lot of matches this year. For us to be able and win a close match like this, where both teams were giving everything they had in the fifth set, will go a long way for our season.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the final set before UK would inch back to a five-all-tie. Pittsburgh stretched a three-point lead at 9-6, but then Kentucky fired back until it was tied at 10. That’s when the visitors once again took a three-point advantage to the 13-10 margin.
Mendoza paced the Kentucky attack with 18 kills on the night. Rapp added her second career double-double effort with 15 kills and 13 digs. Nzenwa was the third Wildcat with double-digit kills as she chipped in with 10 and five blocks. Rumely directed the offense to the tune of 56 assists on the evening, while junior BriAnne Sauer led the UK defense with 25 scoops. Mendoza and Rapp led the team with 18.5 points on the night.
In the first match of the Kentucky Classic, No. 13 Wisconsin swept Western Carolina by a 3-0 score.
Western Carolina will be Kentucky’s first of two opponents Saturday. The Catamounts and Wildcats will square off at 10, with the Wisconsin-Pittsburgh match-up to follow at noon. The evening session begins with Western Carolina and Pittsburgh at 5 p.m., and the Badgers and UK to follow at 7 p.m. Live results of the matches will be available at UKathletics.com.
Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team and the Kentucky Classic this weekend can be found at Kentucky’s official website.
