Oct. 11, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team fell to Tennessee, 3-1, on Friday, Oct. 11 in Memorial Coliseum, despite a late rally. The loss drops the Wildcats to 7-9 on the season, 1-5 in Southeastern Conference play.
Leading the Cats in the loss was junior Sissy Canfield with 16 kills on .370 hitting. Sarah Spinner rebounded from a tough first game to record 18 kills and 11 digs. Aleisha Craven had an awesome defensive effort, recording 16 digs on the night.
After falling behind, 6-0, early in the first game, Kentucky used 7-1 run to tie the match at seven. After another tie at eight, UT distanced itself steadily, taking seven consecutive points to lead 21-12. UK closed the gap to six with three straight kills, two by Anne Koester and one by Liz McCaslin, forcing the Vols to burn a timeout. But the hole was too big for Kentucky to dig out of as the Cats fell to Tennessee, 30-23.
Despite holding a 2-1 lead to start game two, the Wildcats found themselves behind early again, letting the Volunteers build a six-point lead at 10-4. UT continued to build the lead and the Wildcats couldn’t find a way to come back, falling 30-14, giving the Vols a 2-0 lead at halftime.
The Cats took a 4-1 lead in the third game before a 6-1 UT run put UK at a deficit again at 7-5. This time the Wildcats regrouped, tying things up at nine before taking the lead again at 11-10. After UK took the lead at 14-13, UT took a timeout. Amy Kaplan helped the Cats build a three-point advantage at 16-13 with back-to-back aces. A 5-1 run comprised of several amazing Kentucky blocks gave UK a 22-16 advantage late in game. Kentucky continued to dominate down the stretch, using a 30-21 win to stay alive in the match.
Kentucky found itself in a familiar position to start the fourth game, behind 6-2 to start. The Cats faced a deficit for most of the game, but were able to whittle UT’s advantage to four at 19-15, forcing the Vols to talk it over. UK cut it to three on three different occasions, but dropped the game and the match on a service error.
UK returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 15 against instate rival Louisville at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
