Freshman outside hitter Heather Hausfeld registered a career-high 16 kills Friday night, Oct. 27, and Kentucky recorded its best hitting efficiency (.311) in six matches as the Wildcats defeated Ole Miss 3-1 (30-19, 28-30, 30-21, 30-24) in Memorial Coliseum.
The Wildcats (13-8, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) snapped a three-match losing streak and avenged an earlier loss in Oxford to the Rebels (14-10, 5-8 SEC) with the victory. Kentucky out-hit Ole Miss .311-.069 and had four players register double-digit kill totals. UK?s blocking was a key as the Wildcats out-blocked the Rebels 20-10.
Hausfeld?s 16 kills came on a career-best .351 hitting percentage (min. 25 attempts) and she also tied a career-high with four blocks. Junior middle blocker Nicole Britenriker had 14 kills and notched her team-leading 10th double-double of the season with 13 digs to complement seven blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Ashlee Fisher added 12 kills in the win to reach double-digit kills for the eighth straight match. Sophomore middle blocker Queen Nzenwa tied her career high with a squad-best 11 blocks and chipped in 10 kills, while sophomore right side hitter Tess Edwards also matched her personal best with eight blocks.
Senior libero Jenni Casper posted a team-high 19 digs, while senior Julie Gagnon and freshman BriAnne Sauer each totaled 16 digs. Sauer?s 16 scoops marked a career-high in digs. Freshman setter Sarah Rumely dished out 50 assists, while adding nine kills and tying a career-high with five blocks.
?I?m very proud of our blocking defense tonight and the way they shut down the Ole Miss outside hitters,? said head coach Craig Skinner. ?The way our blocking was able to limit Ole Miss was a big reason for our win tonight. We were organized and disciplined and it gave us the chance to get the win against a good Ole Miss team.?
Both teams battled evenly to begin the first game before the Wildcats broke a 4-4 tie with four consecutive points, including two service aces by Gagnon during that stretch. The Rebels trimmed the Kentucky advantage to 9-8 before Fisher found the floor with a crafty kill from the outside to end the Ole Miss scoring streak. UK extended its advantage to 13-9 after a resounding block by Edwards and Nzenwa on the right side. Nzenwa teamed with Hausfeld and then Edwards on consecutive blocks to put the Wildcats ahead by seven, 17-10, coming out of an Ole Miss timeout.
A block solo by Britenriker brought the crowd to its feet and extended Kentucky?s edge to 10 at 23-13. Back-to-back kills by Nzenwa put UK up 26-16 and the Cats cruised to the 30-19 victory. An Edwards kill capped the game-one win after Hausfeld dove into the stands to save a ball that was sailing out of bounds. Kentucky had six blocks in the first game and hit .375 in the opening stanza.
The Wildcats streaked to a 6-3 advantage in the second game after a powerful block by Hausfeld and Nzenwa. Ole Miss then rallied to come within one, 6-5, before Hausfeld drilled a kill on the angle to stop the Rebels? scoring streak. Ole Miss hung tough, but the Wildcats kept adding to their lead, going ahead 12-8 after a kill by Rumely. The Rebels knotted the score at 12-all and went ahead 15-13 on a service ace that prompted a Kentucky timeout.
Ole Miss extended its lead to 22-18 before the Wildcats scored three consecutive points thanks to two kills by Britenriker and a block by Britenriker and Rumely that forced Ole Miss to call for time. Out of the break, the Rebels scored two straight points to go up 24-21. With Ole Miss leading 29-26, the Wildcats staved off two attempts at game point to come within one, 29-28, before falling 30-28 in the second frame.
UK opened game three on a 6-1 tear that was capped by a block from Edwards and Nzenwa that forced an early Ole Miss timeout. Out of the break, the Rebels scored two consecutive points before Nzenwa drilled a kill down the middle to end UK?s scoring drought. A resounding block by Britenriker and Edwards extended UK?s advantage to 9-5, part of a larger 6-0 UK streak that prompted another timeout by the Rebels.
Ole Miss narrowed the Kentucky lead to 15-10 before the Cats used a 3-1 run to extend their advantage to 18-11. The Wildcats reached the 20-point mark at 20-13 when Hausfeld soared above the net to kill a free ball. Kills by Britenriker and Rumely and an attack error against the Rebels pushed UK?s lead out to eight, 24-16. Back-to-back put-downs from Britenriker and Fisher put the Wildcats ahead 27-19 and they rolled to the 30-21 game-three win.
Ole Miss opened the third game with an early 6-2 advantage and extended its lead to 8-4 thanks to some powerful blocking. With the Rebels leading 12-7, Ole Miss made an attack error and Rumely registered a kill to bring UK within three, 12-9. Trailing 14-9, Kentucky reeled off three straight capped off by a Rumely kill to cut its deficit to two, 14-12. The run was part of a larger 5-1 streak that brought the Cats as close as one, 15-14.
Ole Miss went back up by three, 17-14, but two consecutive UK blocks and a kill by Fisher tied the score at 17-17. After falling behind 20-18, the Cats rallied to again tie the score at 20-20 after back-to-back kills by Hausfeld. The Cats went ahead 21-20 on a block by Britenriker and Edwards before Hausfeld crushed a free ball for a kill to give UK a two-point, 22-20 advantage. The Wildcats kept adding to their lead, going up 28-24 on a triumphant kill by Britenriker before closing out the 30-24 win.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday, Oct. 29, when it hosts Mississippi State. Opening serve is set for 1:30 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The match will be televised live on CW Lexington and may be seen locally on Insight Cable channel 5.
