Oct. 27, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team used a home-court advantage to take an exciting 3-2 victory over Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 27 in Memorial Coliseum. Junior Sissy Canfield had a record performance, recording a career-high 24 kills on .488 hitting while adding five blocks. The win moves UK to 9-12 on the season, 3-7 in Southeastern Conference play.
Also performing well for Kentucky was redshirt junior Liz McCaslin who came off the bench to tally 15 kills and 10 digs, both season-highs, for her first double-double of the season. Setter Kristi Kelley recorded a career-best 68 assists and 11 digs for her second double-double of the year. Sarah Spinner added to the UK attack with 23 kills and 10 digs.
For Georgia, Julia Petruschke recorded 24 kills, nine digs and five blocks, while Alexandra Oquendo had a match-high 11 blocks. Luresa Forsythe led the Bulldog defense with 20 digs, also a match best. The Dogs hit .193 to UK’s .181 on the afternoon.
Kentucky couldn’t find its rhythm in game one, hitting a dismal -.024 to UGA’s .182. Kelley’s six first-game digs were one of few highlights for the Cats in the opening stanza. Oquendo had eight kills on .636 for the Bulldogs, leading them to a 30-26 win.
Both teams played tough in the second game, with UK grabbing the 30-26 win to tie the match entering halftime. Canfield put down seven kills in the game, while McCaslin came in to record six digs and two blocks, giving UK an edge.
Kentucky hit a solid .362 in game three, enough to squeak past Georgia’s .268 and win the game 31-29. UK again used Canfield as its main weapon as the junior drove in nine kills on .692 hitting. The Cats also did well to shut down Oquendo, who hit -.250 for the game.
Petruschke was all Georgia needed to claim game four and tie the match at two apiece. She recorded eight kills on .727 hitting to help lead her Dogs to a 30-24 win. Koester gave solid play for UK, connecting on her only two attempts of the game.
The fifth game followed the tone of the entire match with the lead changing often. The Dogs took a 8-6 lead at the changeover, but UK quickly tied it there. Kentucky went on match point at 14-13, but UGA tied it again before a Wildcat kill and a Georgia miscue gave the victory to UK, 16-14.
With the win, Kentucky ties the series with Georgia at 20 matches. The Cats have taken the last three in a row ending an eight-match Bulldog streak.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. for home match with Mississippi State. The contest will be televised live on Fox Sports Net South, channel 52 in the Lexington viewing area.
