Sept. 4, 2001
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team lost its home opener to intrastate rival Western Kentucky, 3-1, on Tuesday, Sept. 4 in Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (2-2, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) was led by sophomore Sissy Canfield, who continued her hot play this season by garnering 16 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman Sarah Spinner recorded her third double-double in four matches as a Wildcat with 10 kills and 14 digs.
The Cats kept things close in the first game, before WKU (3-1, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) went on a tear, taking the game, 31-29. UK battled back in game two, forcing another close contest. The Wildcats evened the match score with the 30-27 decision.
The Hilltoppers looked fresh in game three however, jumping out to an early lead and gained a 2-1 advantage in the match after winning the game 30-15. The final deciding match remained tight down the stretch, with UK evening the score 28 before WKU grabbed the last two points and the 30-28 win.
The match marked the first time this season that the Cats hit below .200. WKU notched a .217 percentage for the match, along with 12 team blocks. The loss drops UK to 10-4 all-time against the Hilltoppers. The Cats have lost back-to-back matches to Western, with their last win coming in 1999, a 3-1 decision in Lexington.
“I never want to say that our team didn’t want it enough, because they did want to win,” Coach Jona Braden said. “The problem is that we were playing to survive. I thought we had excellent ball-handling in the first game, but our hitters just weren’t getting the big plays to fall.”
The Wildcats return to action on Friday, Sept. 7, when they head to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the Western Michigan Invitational. UK takes on host WMU at 7:30 p.m. before facing James Madison at 12:30 p.m. and Valparaiso at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8.
Game Scores
Game OneWKU 31, UK 29
Game TwoUK 30, WKU 27
Game ThreeWKU 30,UK 15
Game FourWKU 30, UK 28
