Oct. 26, 2003
ATHENS, Ga. – Behind a career performance from junior hitter Sarah Spinner, the University of Kentucky volleyball team defeated Georgia, 3-1, on Sunday, Oct. 26 in Athens, Ga. Spinner totaled 25 kills in the victory on .383 hitting to lead the team. The Melbourne, Fla., native added 13 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.
Also having stellar showings for the Wildcats (12-10, 4-6 Southeastern Conference) were Danielle Wallace, Jenni Casper and Leigh Marcum. Wallace had 18 kills and 14 digs for her third career double-double, while Casper led the UK defensive corps with 19 digs. Marcum, who currently leads the conference in assists, totaled 65 assists in the match.
Kentucky outhit the Bulldogs, .255 to .127, while totaling 20 more kills and 19 more digs in the final statistics. The game scores were 30-17, 24-30, 30-19, 30-26.
The Wildcats opened the match well in the first game, pushing to the early 8-3 lead after three kills by Spinner and solid passing. After a Georgia timeout, Danielle Wallace helped UK take the next four points with two kills, pushing the score to 12-3, forcing another UGA trip to the bench. The Cats continued to dominate play, stretching to a 13-point lead at 22-9 after kills by Canfield and Spinner and a Popp ace.
UGA used a 4-1 run to cut the advantage to 10 points at 26-16 late in the game, forcing UK coach Jona Braden to pull her team in for a timeout. After one more score from the Bulldogs, Kentucky was able to close out the game at 30-17 on a Popp kill. Spinner had six kills on .500 hitting in the first stanza to lead the team, which hit .343 to Georgia’s .054 in the game.
It was a true battle to start the second game as the teams tied at every point until three consecutive kills by Wallace allowed UK to build a 9-6 lead. A two-hits call on UGA would give the Wildcats the 10-6 edge and cause the Bulldogs to take a timeout.
The Dawgs rallied, however, and used a 6-2 run to tie the game once again at 12 after consecutive block assists. The teams saw two more ties before back-to-back lift calls on Marcum put the Bulldogs up 16-14. The Cats moved in on another tie at 17-16, but Georgia used UK errors to score four in a row and push to a 21-16 lead. UGA continued to build from there, staving off a late Kentucky comeback for the 30-24 win, tying the match at two games apiece at the break.
After falling behind 3-1 to open the third game, the Wildcats used a 6-1 run to take a 7-4 lead. UK continued to build on the lead following a Georgia timeout, stretching out to a seven-point advantage at 13-6. Kentucky continued to control the pace of the game, until five consecutive Bulldog scores forced a Kentucky timeout with the score sitting at 19-13.
Georgia threatened again late in the game by whittling the lead to four at 22-18, but three consecutive kills down the stretch by Spinner would help secure the 30-19 go-ahead game for Kentucky. Spinner had six kills in the game for the Wildcats.
Neither team was able to gain much ground to open the fourth game as the teams fought through 10 early ties before the Bulldogs built to a 15-12 lead. After a quick timeout, Kentucky got back in the game and cut it to one at 16-15, but UGA would maintain control and a steady three-point lead until kills by Wallace and Popp and a Marcum ace would tie it at 20.
A lift call on the Bulldogs would give UK the 21-20 edge and force a UGA timeout. After two more deadlocks, Kentucky stretched out to a 25-22 lead with strong plays by Kaplan and Spinner. The Wildcats would close out the match with kills on four of the last eight rallies before a Marcum ace sealed the 30-26 victory.
With the win, the Cats even the series with the Bulldogs, 21-21. UK has won four of the last five meetings.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, Oct. 31 for a Halloween night battle against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The road trip continues at Auburn on Sunday, Nov. 2.
