The Kentucky Wildcats will close the 2003 volleyball season with a trip to Las Vegas, Nev., over the Thanksgiving break to take on UNLV and No. 2 Hawaii at the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The Cats will take on the Rebels on Thursday night and follow that up with a match against the Wahine on Friday.
The Cats were eliminated in the opening round of the 2003 SEC Tournament by No. 3 Florida, 3-0. It marked the second meeting between the two teams in five days. The Gators went on to capture the tournament crown after defeating Tennessee in the semifinals and second-seeded Arkansas for the championship, both 3-0 sweeps.
This weekend will close the career of three Wildcats – Sissy Canfield, Julie Davis and Liz McCaslin. The trio of seniors have each played an important role on the Kentucky team over the last few years. Canfield will look to finish in the top-ten in UK?s record lists for hitting percentage, block assists and kills.
Scouting the Rebels
UNLV is 11-16 this year and went 4-10 in Mountain West conference play. Leiana Oswald leads the Rebels, averaging 4.07 kills per game on .213 hitting. Oswald also contributes 2.11 digs per game and 0.60 blocks per game.
The Rebels have dropped two of their last three matches, with the only victory coming in the form of a 3-0 sweep at Air Force on Nov. 8.
Head Coach Deitre Collins brings a wealth of experience to the Rebels staff, having played at Hawaii in the early ?80s, guiding the Rainbow Wahine to two NCAA titles. She was a two-time Broderick Award honoree, which recognizes the nation?s best collegiate volleyball player.
Collins has a career record of 87-135 after in her eighth year in Las Vegas. Kentucky and UNLV have never met in volleyball.
Scouting the Rainbow Wahine
Hawaii has been ranked No. 2 in the nation for most of the 2003 season and sports a 30-1 overall record. The team?s only loss came in the second match of the season to Southern Cal, a 3-0 defeat. The Rainbow Wahine have won 29 consecutive matches and have lost just 11 games all season. Nevada was the last team to win a game over UH, falling 3-1 on Nov. 6.
Kim Willoughby anchors the Hawaii attack with an astounding 6.60 kills per game on .394 hitting. She also contributes 2.91 digs per contest as well. Lily Kahumoku adds 4.42 kills per game and leads the team with 3.36 digs per game.
Dave Shoji is in his 28th season as head coach at Hawaii and holds an 863-148-1 overall record. Kentucky is winless in three meetings with the Rainbow Wahine, with all three losses coming in the 1983 season. The final loss came on Dec. 11 – eliminating the Cats from the NCAA Tournament in the quarterfinals.
