Kentucky used a powerful blocking effort that out-blocked Georgetown 13-3 and UK hit a season-best .402 as the Wildcats cruised to a 3-0 (30-11, 30-14, 30-17) win against Georgetown Friday, Aug. 31, to open the annual Kentucky Classic in Memorial Coliseum.
The Wildcats (4-1) were led by senior middle blocker Nicole Britenriker who posted a match-high 11 kills on .500 hitting with six digs and six blocks. Britenriker was one of six Kentucky players to hit .400 or better for the match. One match after notching her career high in blocks with eight, freshman Lauren Rapp followed up that performance with seven blocks against the Hoyas who fall to 0-4 with the loss.
Kentucky was exceptionally efficient offensively, committing a season-low nine attack errors, while hitting an impressive .531 in the second frame. The Wildcats were able to capitalize on 10 service errors by Georgetown, which hit .000 for the match.
?I was very pleased with our team?s composure all three games,? UK head coach Craig Skinner said. ?We were focused on the task at hand the entire match. I am pleased that we hit for a high percentage and made very few hitting errors.?
Junior middle blocker Queen Nzenwa had seven kills on .500 hitting with four blocks, while sophomore setter Sarah Rumely dished out 30 assists, registered six digs and posted three blocks.
Twelve Wildcats saw action in the match and several Kentucky players notched career highs. Sophomore defensive specialist BriAnne Sauer had a career-high three service aces, while freshman outside hitter Sarah Mendoza registered a collegiate-best three kills.
Kentucky and Georgetown battled evenly for the early part of the opening game with five ties in the early going. With Kentucky leading 10-8, Nzenwa and Rapp teamed up for a pair of powerful blocks to take the Wildcats to a 12-8 advantage. A block solo from freshman middle blocker Blaire Hiler and a kill by Nzenwa extended UK?s advantage to 15-9. Kentucky kept rolling and used a 10-1 run, capped off by a kill from Britenriker to go ahead 25-10. The Wildcats scored five of the game?s final six points to take a 30-11 first-game victory.
In game two, Kentucky took an early 6-5 advantage and scored four consecutive points behind the strong serving of junior libero Alisa Pierce to extend its lead to 10-5. The Hoyas kept it close for a while, coming within two, 12-10, on a kill by Georgetown?s Kortney Robinson. Rapp served a pair of aces to widen the Cats? margin to 18-12, and the Hoyas would only score two more points the rest of the way. With Kentucky ahead 23-14, Britenriker registered a kill and then served the next seven points to cap an 8-0 UK run and give the Wildcats the 30-14 game-two win.
The Wildcats opened on a 14-3 tear to begin the third game after breaking a three-all tie with 11 consecutive points. After a pair of Georgetown points, Mendoza ripped a kill on the outside to stop the Hoyas? scoring streak with UK ahead 16-5. Georgetown came as close as nine, 16-7, but the Wildcats thrived, extending their lead back out to 22-10 on a Hoya attack error that forced a late Georgetown timeout. A sharp kill by Britenriker widened Kentucky?s margin to 26-14 and the Wildcats cruised from there. Leading 27-17, the Wildcats scored the game?s final three points, including an emphatic drill shot down the middle by Nzenwa for the match-clinching kill at 30-17.
Kentucky returns to action with a pair of matches to conclude the annual Kentucky Classic. The Wildcats face Austin Peay at 10 a.m. and Cleveland State at 7 p.m. Live statistics for both matches will be available at ukathletics.com.
