Sept. 3, 2001

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team will open its 2001 home schedule against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. It marks the first of 16 home dates on UK’s fall schedule.

The Wildcats (2-1, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a solid performance at the Southern Methodist Invitational in Dallas, Texas, over the holiday weekend. UK grabbed wins over host SMU and Weber State but fell short in a comeback effort to knock off Duke. The Cats earned runner-up honors in the tournament, which the Blue Devils won.

Sophomore Sissy Canfield shined for Kentucky in the tourney, setting two career highs while earning All-Tournament honors. Her 18 kills against SMU on Aug. 31, were a career high, as was her .586 hitting percentage against the Mustangs. She compiled 47 kills on the weekend for a .402 hitting percentage. Also earning All-Tournament team honors was junior Kristen Batt, who notched 25 kills against Weber St. in the Cats’ final match of the weekend.

WKU (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) is coming off a strong performance at the University of Toledo’s Clarion Hotel Westgate Rocket Classic over the weekend in Toledo, Ohio. The Hilltoppers swept both Cleveland State and Chicago State, 3-0, before falling to host Toledo, 3-0. Senior middle blocker Jessica Willard, junior setter Sara Noe and senior outside hitter Tara Thomas each earned all-tournament honors.

Kentucky is 10-3 all-time against Western, its last win coming in 1999 when the Cats took a 3-1 decision in Lexington. WKU returns four starters from that squad which went 25-8 on the season and finished tied for first in the Eastern Division of the conference. The Cats are 17-7 all-time in home openers. UK looks to get back on track after dropping its 2000 home opener to Louisville, 3-0.