Sept. 20, 2003
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Sacramento State on Saturday, Sept. 20 in the final day of the Albuquerque Marriott Lobo Volleyball Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.
Kentucky (8-3) was led by Liz McCaslin with 15 kills on .163 hitting and 12 digs, all team highs. Sarah Spinner had 12 kills on .172 hitting for UK as well.
The first game saw the Wildcats take an early 11-6 lead in a stretch that saw McCaslin tally four kills. The Hornets were able to battle back after a timeout and cut the advantage to one point at 19-18. UK would again stretch the lead to five, but would find itself even with SSUat 26 apiece.
After a timeout, Kentucky broke through ties at 28, 29 and 30 before taking a 32-30 win on a Sacramento State hitting error.
Kentucky put itself behind 3-0 to begin the second game, but fought within one at 7-6. Sacramento State, however, seemed to be hitting on all cylinders, stretching its profit to seven at 20-13, forcing Jona Braden to burn a timeout.
The Wildcats came within six late in the game, but miscues cost them a 30-20 decision. SSU held UK to just .108 hitting in the game, while McCaslin faded with just two kills.
UK was put at a disadvantage early in the third game, falling back 4-1 before ripping off three straight points to knot the score. SSU ran the score up again, this time using an 8-2 run to force a Kentucky timeout at 12-6. The deficit would only build from there as the Hornets extended to an 11-point lead with an 8-3 run and closed out a 30-22 victory to own a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The fourth game saw five early ties before a Hornet run left Kentucky behind 11-6. The Cats didn’t back down though, taking the next three points to pull within two. UK would cut the lead by the same score twice more before three errors gave SSU a 16-11 edge and forced the Cats to talk it over.
Kentucky would never recover and would drop the game and match with a 30-17 game four loss.
The Hornets, who move to 6-6 with the win, have made the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six seasons.
Kentucky closes play at the Lobo Classic against Ohio at 5 p.m. MT. The Cats will open the Southeastern Conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 26 at Arkansas.
