Sept. 13, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team opened its home schedule on Friday, Sept. 13 with a strong win over Wake Forest on the opening night of the Kentucky Conference Challenge in Lexington, Ky. The Wildcats are riding a five-match win streak and improve to 5-2 with the victory.
Kentucky didn’t have an easy time with the Demon Deacons (2-5), as both teams hit under .200 on the night. UK had a trio of heavy hitters on the night, as Kristen Batt, Sissy Canfield and Sarah Spinner each put down 16 kills. Spinner, who drove in the match-winner, also had 16 digs for her third double-double of the season, while Batt was close behind with 15 digs for her fifth double-double this year.
“Wake Forest started solid and found its rhythm,” Coach Jona Braden said. “Our execution struggled, but our fight stayed with us tonight. We found a way to be productive with an aggressive, gritty fight.”
Wake Forest came out strong in game one, hitting .297 to UK’s .025. The Demon Deacons looked tough to beat as they cruised to the 30-19 win. But the Cats found their mark in game two, capitalizing on WFU errors to jump out to a five-point lead at 14-9. Wake was able to chip away at the UK lead, cutting it to one at 25-24 and forcing a Kentucky timeout. Kentucky came back strong, closing out with five straight points for a 30-24 win.
Kentucky trailed 4-2 early in game three, but tied things up at four with a Spinner kill and held the lead until the Demon Deacons took over at 25-24, forcing a UK timeout. Wake was on game point at 29-28 but Kentucky got another breath of life, by tying it 29 before taking the advantage at 30-29 on a block by Spinner and Canfield. Canfield then gave UK the 2-1 match-advantage with a kill to win the game, 31-29.
Game four was tight as the teams battled through several ties before the Cats closed out strong down the stretch. The team hit just .159 on the game, but it was enough to slip by Wake Forest, 30-24.
In the evening’s early match, Western Michigan overcame a game-one loss to defeat Dayton in four, moving to 2-5 on the season, while UD dropped to 5-3. The round-robin tournament continues through Saturday. Western Michigan and Wake Forest open play at 10 a.m. before the Wildcats face Dayton at noon. The evening matches pit Dayton against WFU at 5 p.m. before UK and WMU close out the event at 7 p.m.
