Oct. 12, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 halftime deficit against Tennessee but came up short, falling 3-1 in Knoxville on Sunday afternoon. The match marks the second consecutive Southeastern Conference loss for UK, which falls to 10-8, 2-4 in league play.
Danielle Wallace had a career performance off the bench for Kentucky, totaling 19 kills in just three games on .533 hitting. The sophomore earned her first career double-double in the match as well with 10 digs. All of Wallace’s numbers were career highs.
Sarah Spinner led UK’s defensive corps with 19 digs, while Sissy Canfield had her first double-double of the year with a career-best 10 blocks to go with 15 kills on .355 hitting. Amy Kaplan also came off the bench for Kentucky and grabbed seven kills, four digs and a block for the squad.
The match was opened with a Volunteer point on the first rally before the teams fought through three quick ties. The Vols worked their way to an 8-4 lead, but Kentucky was able even the score at 10 after a Spinner ace. UT ripped off four in a row to regain a 14-10 lead, but the Cats came back again, tying the game at 17.
Play remained close, but a two-hits call on Leigh Marcum let UT earn a 25-22 lead, forcing a Wildcat timeout. Tennessee went up by four at 28-24 after a blocked Spinner shot. After another UK timeout, Michelle Piantadosi used back-to-back kills to give the Vols the 30-24 victory. The Cats hit just .050 in the game to UT’s .222.
After falling behind 4-1 early in the second game, UK recovered and cut the lead to one at 9-8 on a Spinner shot. The Cats would come within one again at 10-9 on a Melissa Popp kill, but soon fell behind by six at 19-13. Kentucky continued to fight, taking the next three points to force a Vol timeout at 19-16.
An ace by Popp and a block assist by Marcum and Canfield put UK just a point behind at 24-23 before another ace by the freshman would tie the game. A cross-court shot by Canfield gave UK its first lead of the game at 25-24 and instigated a UT timeout. With the score tied at 26, the Vols took back-to-back rallies for the 28-26 lead. Kentucky used another timeout, but an overshot by Popp followed by a UT kill gave the Volunteers a 30-26 win.
The Cats returned from halftime and took a 2-0 lead to open the third game, but UT wouldn’t stay quiet for long as the teams battled closely through much of the game. Mistakes put UK behind three several times near the mid-point of the game, put UK tied the contest at 18 on a Wallace kill. After a lift call on the Cats, Wallace used another putdown to tie the game at 19.
With UK down 20-19, Wallace would knock down two more in a row to give her team a 21-20 advantage, forcing the Vols to burn a timeout. Kentucky continued to play well, taking three of the next four points to earn a 25-21 lead.
Tennessee rallied to cut the lead to three at 27-24, but a kill by Kaplan would keep the match alive for UK with a 30-24 win. Kaplan hit .800 in the game with four kills, while Wallace putdown eight balls on .500 hitting.
After a 4-1 start to open the fourth game, Kentucky let the Vols back in to even the score at seven. After another tie at eight, UT rattled off three-in-a-row to earn an 11-8 edge and force a UK break. The Wildcats continued to fight, however, knotting the score at 11. After falling behind again, the Cats were able to tie it again at 15. The Vols rebounded and used a 3-0 run to earn an 18-15 lead.
The Volunteers continued to control the pace and stretched their edge to seven at 26-19. The Cats were down, but not out, taking four in a row to cut the score to 26-22. A UT timeout couldn’t stop the Kentucky attack as the next two points came via a Kaplan kill and a block assist by Canfield and McCaslin. UT burned another timeout quickly and got back in the game, taking three of the next four points.
The Wildcats held the Vols on match point for three straight rallies, but a cross-court shot by Kristen Andre gave UT the 30-28 victory.
The Wildcats return home on Friday, Oct. 17 to play host to the LSU Tigers at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The match kicks off UK’s annual Alumni Weekend and will feature a special halftime ceremony.
