Nov. 7, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team extended its win streak to five matches with a 3-0 sweep of Morehead State on Thursday, Nov. 7 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky. Leading the Wildcats to the win was freshman Amy Kaplan, who put down a career-high 13 kills while hitting .480.
Kentucky (13-12, 6-7 SEC) also received solid play from Sissy Canfield with 13 kills and three blocks. Kristen Batt continued to play well, adding 11 kills and 25 digs, just one shy of her career best. Sarah Spinner also had 12 kills and 17 digs for a double-double, while setter Kristi Kelley added 16 digs to her 46 assists on the night. Morehead State (19-11) was led by Amy Almond with 11 kills and Cherelle Lampkins with 21 digs.
UK opened the match with a 7-3 run before the Eagles cut the lead to three at 8-5. Kentucky kept its distance, however, building a comfortable distance on strong play by Batt. The Cats ended the game 30-18 on a Canfield kill.
The second game saw 19 ties, leading up to a thrilling conclusion. With MSU on game point at 30-29, Kaplan and Anne Koester had back-to-back kills to give UK the game-point advantage at 31-30. The Eagles would tie things again at 31, but a kill by Kristi Kelley gave UK the advantage again. A Koester tip down the near sideline would give Kentucky the controversial 33-31 win.
After falling behind 8-2 to start the third game, the Wildcats would land kills on nine of the next 11 rallies to take an 11-10 lead and force an MSU timeout. After breaking through four more ties, the Wildcats would take over for good at 16-15 and close out the match with a 30-23 win.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 10 when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for a rematch with Tennessee. The Volunteers beat the Cats in Lexington, 3-0, on Oct. 11. The match begins at 2 p.m. ET.
