Nov. 20, 2001
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
U of L/Clemson Notes
The University of Kentucky volleyball team will close out its 2001 schedule over the Thanksgiving holiday with a makeup date at Louisville on Nov. 21 before traveling to Clemson, S.C., on Friday, Nov. 23.
The Cats had a disappointing showing at last week’s SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. Kentucky had a seven-point lead in the first game before the Hogs came back to take the lead at 29-28 before grabbing the game win.
The Razorbacks went on to sweep the Wildcats, eliminating UK from its first tournament appearance in two years. The Cats did have some good news in Knoxville as April Barnhorst earned both second-team All-SEC and Academic All-SEC honors. Teammate Liz McCaslin joined Barnhorst on the Academic All-SEC list.
The Cardinals lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to DePaul in the finals of the Conference USA Tournament on Sunday. Louisville outblocked and outhit the Demons, but were still on the short end of the 15-12 final game score.
Both Anastasia Zaitseva and Sonja Percan earned All-Tournament honors for the Cardinals, who came back from a two-game deficit for the first time since their 1996 match with Kentucky.Percan leads the Cardinals on the season with a .283 hitting percentage and 5.0 kills per game. Zaitseva is averaging 3.7 kpg and 0.9 assists per game.
Wednesday will be the 43rd meeting between the instate rivals, with UK holding the 26-16 advantage. Louisville recorded the last win in the series in the 2000 season closer, beating UK 3-0 in Louisville. UK’s last win came on Sept. 21, 1999, a 3-2 victory in Lexington.
Clemson has struggled to put a run together all season, never winning more than two in a row. The Tigers were knocked out of the first round of the ACC Tournament last week with a 3-2 narrow defeat by North Carolina. Jodi Steffes leads the way for the Tigers, averaging 3.6 kills per game and a .289 hitting percentage.
This marks the seventh meeting between the two teams, with UK holding the 6-1 advantage. The Tigers grabbed the last win, however, a 3-0 decision at CU’s Big Orange Bash in 1999.
