Kentucky out-blocked Ole Miss 20-8 and three players recorded seven or more blocks, but the Wildcats came up just short as the Rebels won a 3-2 (30-27, 28-30, 16-30, 30-26, 15-6) decision on Friday in Memorial Coliseum.
Middle blockers Nicole Britenriker and Queen Nzenwa each registered 13 kills for the Wildcats, who drop to 15-5, 6-3 in the Southeastern Conference, while sophomore outside hitter Brooke Bartek added 12 put-downs. Nzenwa notched her third double-double of the season, as she tied her career high with 12 blocks to complement her 13 kills. Nzenwa moved into sole possession of second place on UK?s career blocks assist list.
Freshman right-side hitter Lauren Rapp recorded seven kills, posted seven blocks and recorded 10 digs. Sophomore libero BriAnne Sauer recorded a career-high 24 digs to head the defensive effort, while sophomore setter Sarah Rumely had 49 assists and seven kills.
The Wildcats hit .249 for the match, while Ole Miss managed just a .174 hitting efficiency.
?I?m really disappointed because we outhit and out-blocked Ole Miss but you have to give them credit for how hard they played in games four and five tonight,? said UK head coach Craig Skinner.
Kentucky broke to a 4-1 advantage in the first game capped off by a block solo by Nzenwa. Ole Miss then scored three consecutive points to knot the score at 4-all before UK capitalized on a Rebel attack error and followed with a block by Blaire Hiler and Nzenwa to go back in front 6-4. The Wildcats extended their advantage to 10-7 after a shot by Britenriker down the right side.
Ole Miss rallied to come within one, 10-9, before Bartek drilled a kill on the outside to stop the scoring streak. The Rebels tied the score at 11 and after eight more ties, the Wildcats capitalized on a pair of Ole Miss errors to go up 24-22 heading into a Rebel timeout. Out of the break, Kentucky extended its lead to 25-22, but the Rebels ran off four straight points to go in front 26-25. The Wildcats weren?t able to recover in a 30-27 opening-game loss.
Ole Miss opened up to a 5-1 lead in the first game before extending its advantage to 7-3 and forcing Skinner to burn an early timeout. With Kentucky trailing 10-5, Bartek and Rumely posted back-to-back kills to bring the Cats within four, 11-7. UK kept chipping away at its deficit and came as close as two, 12-10, after a Rumely ace that caused Ole Miss to use a timeout. Out of the break, Ole Miss used a 6-1 run to go up 16-11 before a block by Nzenwa and Rapp stopped the scoring streak.
The Rebels kept rolling and moved in front by eight, 20-12, after back-to-back attack errors by Hiler. Down 21-14, Kentucky scored a pair of points after consecutive kills by Sarah Mendoza and Britenriker. The Wildcats used an 8-2 rally to knot the score at 23-all after a Bartek kill. After another tie at 25, Rapp drilled a shot down the middle to again give UK the lead. Up 27-25, the Cats emphatically capped off a long rally with a resounding block by Britenriker and Rapp that brought the crowd to its feet. The Wildcats closed out game two on an 18-8 run, ending on a kill by Mendoza off the block, for a 30-28 win.
The two teams battled closely to begin game three before the Wildcats took a 9-5 advantage after back-to-back kills by Rumely on second contact. A kill by Rumely and an Ole Miss attack error allowed Kentucky to extend its lead to 12-6 before the Rebels ran off three consecutive points to pull within 12-9. The Cats responded with a 3-0 run of their own, capped off by a block by Nzenwa and Rapp, to move ahead 15-9.
The Wildcats extended their advantage to 20-14 after a block by Mendoza and Britenriker, and a kill by Rumely on successive plays. Britenriker followed with a put-down of her own to put the Cats ahead 21-14 and force an Ole Miss timeout. Back-to-back kills by Britenriker allowed UK to extend its advantage to 10, 26-16 and the Wildcats closed out the 30-16 win on a 6-0 run. Kentucky hit a match-best .436 in the third frame.
Ole Miss opened to an 11-9 advantage in a tightly contested game four before Rapp and Bartek registered consecutive kills to knot the score at 11-all. With the Wildcats trailing 14-11, Nzenwa registered a put-down before Britenriker and Rapp teamed for a powerful block on the right side to bring the Cats within one, 14-13.
Ole Miss then scored three of the next four points to extend its advantage to 17-14 and force Skinner to burn a timeout. The Rebels extended their lead to 24-18 to force a Kentucky break. Trailing 24-19, the Wildcats ran off four of the next five points to come within two, 26-24, after back-to-back kills by Mendoza. Two consecutive Ole Miss attack errors tied the score at 26, but the Rebels scored the next four points for the 30-26 victory.
Kentucky never could find its rhythm in the fifth game, falling behind 7-2 before a kill by Britenriker stopped the scoring streak. Ole Miss used four consecutive kills by Katie Kramer to go up 13-5 before winning 15-6.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday when it plays host to No. 18 LSU, the SEC Western Division leader. Opening serve in Memorial Coliseum is set for 1:30 p.m. and the match will be carried live on C-WKYT (Insight channel 5 in Lexington). Live statistics will be available at ukathletics.com.
