Oct. 5, 2003
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team defeated Ole Miss, 3-1, at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 5. The Cats are now 10-6 overall and 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
Sarah Spinner and Melissa Popp led Kentucky with 21 kills apiece, while Spinner recorded a double-double with 11 digs. Liz McCaslin was a defensive stopper with 22 digs to lead all players in the match. UK hit a solid .247 one the day to Ole Miss’ .148. Sissy Canfield was Kentucky’s best hitter on the day, hitting .500 after a .520 performance on Friday.
An ace by Canfield would start a 7-0 run to put the Cats up 11-3 early in the first game. Ole Miss would end the run with two consecutive scores to bring the tally to 11-5. However, Kentucky’s defensive play would keep the Rebels at bay. Spinner’s six kills for the game helped UK to a 12 point lead at 24-12. The Wildcats had a hitting percentage of .182 for the match. McCaslin led the UK in digs with eight for the game.
In game two, Ole Miss capitalized early off Wildcat hitting errors. A kill by Popp would start a three-point run to even the score at eight. The Cats and the Rebels would continue to exchange the lead, but back-to-back net violations would put Ole Miss up 20-18. Canfield’s fifth kill for the game would tie the score at 21. Leigh Marcum would follow up the play with a dump. The Cats turned over their lead due to ball errors, and the match was tied again later at 26. UK would commit seven errors versus the Rebels four in game two. Ole Miss would have three plays that would help them to pull out a win, 30-28.
Kentucky would see another hard battle in the third stanza. After early ties, the Cats would break away with a two-point lead after a kill by McCaslin at 9-7. UK would later go on a 5-0 run to put the team ahead 15-11. The Rebels got back in the game capitalizing off of errors by UK. Two back-to-back kills by Canfield brought the score to 22-19. Kentucky lengthened the lead to 27-21 with outstanding defense. Popp sealed the victory for Kentucky with a kill to put the final score at 30-22.
The Rebels started out with an early lead to 3-0 in the fourth game, but Canfield dominated from the start of the game. She had five kills and two blocks to put Kentucky ahead 10-5. Ole Miss would pull with in two with back-to-back kills at 14-12. Defense allowed UK to maintain their lead at 19-16, but errors by Kentucky would allow the Rebels to even the score at 21. A McCaslin kill would increase the lead by two at 24-22. Danielle Wallace entered the match late in the fourth game and got a quick kill.
The Wildcats return to the court on Wednesday, Oct. 8 when they travel to Columbia, S.C.
