April 15, 2003
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky volleyball coach Jona Braden has announced the 2003 schedule, which features three pre-conference tournaments and trips to 11 different states. The schedule features four teams that made the 2002 NCAA Tournament, including two Final Four squads, Florida and Hawaii.
The Wildcats will open the 2003 slate with a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., for Wake Forest’s Deacon Invitational, Aug. 29-30. Featured with the Cats and Deacons will be Southern Methodist, a 2001 Wildcat opponent, and Tennessee Tech. Kentucky will travel again the next weekend to Ames, Iowa for the Cyclone Challenge. There the team will compete against host Iowa, Iowa State and Western Illinois.
Kentucky will play host to its annual tournament, the Kentucky Conference Challenge, Sept. 12-13 in UK’s Memorial Coliseum. Joining the Cats will be Virginia, Wright State and Syracuse. The teams will play six matches over the two-day period in a round-robin format.
A trip to Albuquerque, N.M., for the New Mexico Lobo Invitational, Sept. 19-20, features matches with New Mexico, Sacramento State and Ohio. It marks the first time since 1988 that the Lobos and Wildcats have faced off and only the second time in school history.
The 2003 Southeastern Conference schedule is as tough as ever with road trips to Florida, Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina. The Cats also will face in-state rival Louisville on Nov. 10 in a non-conference break in Derby City.
This year’s SEC Tournament will take place in Columbia, S.C., Nov. 20-23. It’s the first time that South Carolina has hosted the tournament since 1996.
Kentucky will take its annual Thanksgiving weekend trip to Las Vegas, Nev., for the UNLV Tournament. The Cats will play host UNLV on Thanksgiving Day and will take on Hawaii, a 2002 Final Four squad, on Friday.
