UK looking to even its record at 2-2
(Sept. 4, 2000) — The University of Kentucky volleyball team opens the home portion of its 2000 schedule on Tuesday, September 5, when intra-state rival Louisville Cardinals come to Memorial Coliseum to take on the Wildcats. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and admission is free.
The match is the first of two meetings between the Cats and Cards this season, with UK (1-2) traveling to Louisville to conclude the regular season on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats lead the all-time series with U of L, 26-14, after the two teams split their season series in 1999. Each team won on its home court.
“Playing your home opener, playing U of L, what more could you want,” UK head coach Jona Braden said. “We don’t know a lot about them, but we do know they are going to hustle and have big hitters on the sides. It’ll be another great opportunity to apply ourselves against another talented team.”
Louisville (2-0) is coming off an exhibition win over the University of Western Ontario on Sunday and will be playing the Cats in the team’s first road contest of the season after home wins over Missouri-Kansas City on Friday and Dayton on Saturday.
The Wildcats are coming off a weekend that saw them win a tough five-game match against William & Mary.
However, that victory followed a disappointing sweep at the hands of Georgetown in the season opener and preceded another less-than-fulfilling loss at the hands of host Virginia.
“We struggled in our transition game and didn’t always execute like we should have,” Braden said. “The effort was there, but we still struggled offensively. We were too tentative.”
Despite the third place finish at the Jefferson Cup Tournament, there were plenty of bright sports for the Wildcats during the weekend. The most obvious was the play of middle blockers Megan Weiskircher and April Barnhorst.
Both players were named to the All-Tournament team as each one contributed ferociously on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
“Our middles really got after it this weekend,” Braden said. “Megan and April went hard after the ball on offense and defense and made up for some inconsistent play from our outsides.”
Weiskircher leads the team with 36 kills and 34 digs while Barnhorst ranks second in kills with 34 and leads the squad with 15 total blocks.
Braden was also pleased with the team’s passing and setting which has resulted in 112 assists from setter Whitney Sample and 15 more from freshman Kristi Kelley.
