Aug. 31, 2002
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team won its first match of the 2002 season with a 3-0 sweep of Fairfield in its final match at the Hofstra Asics Invitational. The Wildcats move to 1-2 on the season after weekend losses to Hofstra and Texas Tech.
Leading the UK attack was junior Sissy Canfield with 15 kills and two block assists. Also performing well were senior Kristen Batt, who earned 11 kills on .421 hitting and 11 digs, and sophomore Sarah Spinner with 10 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. The Cats by no doubt had their best performance of the weekend offensively, hitting .435 as a team while limiting the Stags to a .132 percentage.
“We executed our game,” Coach Jona Braden said. “We took advantage of opportunities that Fairfield game us, but it was an overall team effort. We played so much better than they had during the past two matches. The players are very proud of themselves, and they have learned a lot.
After Fairfield tied the first game early at 1-1, Kentucky went on a 13-0 run to set themselves in position for a win. After the Stags grabbed several points, the Cats used scrappy defense and impressive attacking power to seal the game-one win, 30-14.
Canfield set the tone for the second game, collecting five kills while having her hands in four of the final five plays en route to the 30-23 wins. Fairfield was able to force four ties in the early going, but a 6-2 UK run forced a Stag timeout with the Cats leading 24-18. The Wildcats were able to dominated down the stretch with Canfield putting down three kills and assisting on the game-winning block.
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead to start the third game and never looked back, stretching their lead to as many as 14, the final margin of victory. UK took the match with the 30-16 game win.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, Sept. 6 when the Wildcats take on host North Carolina State at 5 p.m. in the opening night of the Outback Steakhouse Wolfpack Classic in Raleigh, N.C.
