SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? The University of Kentucky volleyball team earned its second consecutive victory with a 3-0 sweep of Western Illinois on Friday, Sept.3 at the T.J. Sales Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Mo. Junior Danielle Wallace led the Wildcats I the win with 16 kills on .467 hitting as UK hit .244 on the afternoon.
Freshman Alex Montefalco continued to play well to start her Kentucky career, putting down 10 kills and recording 10 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Sarah Spinner added 11 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore Jenni Casper led the defense with 14 digs to go with two service aces.
Kentucky got an early 3-0 lead to start the match before the Westerwinds evened the score at 3-3. After two more ties early, Kentucky used a 7-0 run, capitalizing on WIU miscues, to earn a 14-7 advantage. Western Illinois gave the Cats a scare again when it pulled within two points at 16-14, but the UK remained strong and counted on a team effort down the stretch to close out a 30-19 game one victory. The Cats hit a disappointing .114 in the game, while WIU was in the negative column at -.053.
The Wildcats continued to control the tempo in the second game, earning a 9-2 advantage after three consecutive kills by junior Amy Kaplan. However, the Westerwinds came charging back into the game and used a 6-1 run to threaten the Wildcats at 10-8, forcing a UK timeout. An attack error by Wallace out the break cut the lead to one point and the game remained close until a 7-1 Wildcat run increased the margin to seven at 21-14. The Cats held strong and again closed out the game, 30-23, on a Kristen Cunningham kill.
Freshman setter Ki Eveland made her Wildcat debut in the third game and quickly made herself known as she earned her first collegiate assist off a Wallace kill to even the score at one. The teams saw four more early ties before a 7-1 Kentucky run gave the Cats a 17-11 lead. The Westerwinds would never threaten again as Montefalco sealed the victory on a kill from Melissa Popp. UK won the final game by a margin of 30-23, while hitting .326.
The Wildcats return to action on Friday evening as they face tournament host Southwest Missouri State at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can follow all of the action through live stats at www.ukathletics.com.
