No. 12 Kentucky Returns Home to Face Louisville, Kennesaw State
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Coming off two impressive wins last weekend on the road, the No. 12 Kentucky volleyball team returns to Memorial Coliseum to wrap up non-conference play on Friday and Saturday. UK will face Louisville on Friday at 7 p.m. and Kennesaw State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Kentucky’s match with the Cardinals will air live on the SEC Network, with Cara Capuano and Lizzy Stemke on the call. Saturday’s match will be streamed via SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.
Team autographs will be available after the match on Friday, and students will have a chance to win a variety of prizes as part of the “Student Fandemonium” day. Tickets are $1 for general admission Friday.
After this weekend, the Wildcats will begin Southeastern Conference play on the road at Missouri on Sept. 20.
Match Day Information
Doors will open one hour prior to first serve. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and travel light for quicker entry.
Kentucky is excited to introduce ticket scanning at Memorial Coliseum this season. Season and single-game volleyball tickets will now be barcoded and scanned for validity at each entrance. By barcoding tickets, fans will soon have access to more ticket management features than ever before.
Bags entering Memorial Coliseum may not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″. All bags are subject to visual inspection upon entry. An exception will be made for medically necessary items, after proper inspection. Please note, backpacks are not permitted inside Memorial Coliseum, regardless of size.
Complete match day information can be found at our game day site by clicking here.
Parking Information
All E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum including the North Craft, High Street, Rose Street, and Linden Walk employee lots are available for event parking beginning three hours prior to first serve. Additionally, the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the Rose Street Garage (PS#2) are available two hours prior to first serve.
Disabled parking is available in the North Craft lot. Spaces are limited and provided on a first come, first served basis with a valid, state-issued disabled parking hangtag.
Scouting the Opponent – Louisville
Louisville comes to Kentucky riding a three-match winning streak after winning the UNLV Challenge last week. Louisville is 5-3 this season. UL only lost one set all weekend with wins over UC Irvine, Weber State and UNLV. Last weekend, Melanie McHenry led the offense with 42 kills, three aces and eight blocks. Setter Wilma Rivera was named the challenge’s MVP with 111 assists, four aces and four digs. On the year, McHenry leads the Cards in kills at 3.48 kills per set, while Tess Clark follows with 3.22 terminations per set with a .248 attacking percentage.
Scouting the Opponent – Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State is 6-1 with its lone loss against UC Irvine. KSU is currently on a four-match winning streak and took down SEC foe Georgia, 3-0, on Wednesday. Two players – Maddie Jones and Anaiah Boyer – both put up double-digit kills in the win. KSU is led by Jones offensively with 3.39 kills per set while Boyer follows with 3.19.
Firing on All Cylinders
Kentucky was red-hot on offense in the four-set win over Marquette last weekend to wrap up the MU Invitational. The Wildcats totaled 81 kills, the highest for a four-set match in program history. The total was an impressive 12 kills higher than the previous record of 69, which was set last year against Texas A&M. The Cats’ 81 kills were the highest in program history, two above the five-set record of 79 that was set in 2013. UK’s attacking percentage was .451, the highest ever in a four-set match. The previous match record was .398, set in 2011 against South Carolina.
Four-Players put up double-digit kills in the win while freshman Madison Lilley posted 65 assists.
Three Set Records
Kentucky started the Marquette Invitational the same way it ended it. Kentucky had 43 kills on just 83 attack attempts, a program record at .548, and committed just three errors. Eleven players recorded at least one termination in the victory and 16 players got into the match.
65 Assists Again? That’ll Earn SEC Player of the Week
Freshman Madison Lilley has had an impressive start of her collegiate career. Lilley was named SEC Player and Setter of the Week for the first time after helping the Cats set multiple offensive records. She accomplished something no other Wildcat has in the 25-point rally scoring era after posting her second-career match of 65 assists in the win over Marquette. Lilley has four double-doubles this season.
Career-High Kill Total
Leah Edmond put up a career-high 26 kills in the win over Marquette. The match was her second-career 25+ kill total, making her the second Wildcat in the 25-point rally scoring era to have two matches of 25+ in her career. She has nine matches with 20 or more terminations, the highest in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Record Holder
Kaz Brown set the 25-point rally scoring era record for total blocks in the match against Loyola last Friday. She’ll head into the weekend with 465 total blocks, and also holds the block assists record with 416.
Chasing Records
Kaz Brown is also climbing the 25-point rally scoring era record book in multiple categories. The Waterloo, Iowa, native is currently in second in solo blocks (49). The senior is also seventh in kills at 788 and 10th in attack attempts at 1,646.
Emily Franklin is currently eighth in block solos with 29, seventh in blocks assists at 276 and fifth in total blocks at 305. Franklin also has the sixth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .310.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is ninth all-time with 688 kills and eighth in attacks with 1,852. In total points, she is in ninth with 782.0.
Ashley Dusek is currently fourth in the rally scoring era with 1,194 digs and eighth in assists at 187.
Career Leaders
Kaz Brown is currently third in the country among active players in career blocks. Her 465 total blocks are behind Faith Dooley of North Dakota (552) and Rhamat Alhassan of Florida (504). After just two seasons, Merideth Jewell is No. 89 in the nation in career leaders with 905 kills. Jewell played her first two seasons at Morehead State before transferring to Kentucky.
AVCA Ranking
The Wildcats are ranked after week three, moving up one spot to No. 12. Under head coach Craig Skinner, the team has been ranked for 104 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 13-consecutive weeks. Skinner’s highest ranking was No. 7 in 2009.
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
