After splitting its matches last weekend on the road, the Wildcats head to Mississippi this weekend to face Mississippi State and Ole Miss on their home courts for the first time since the 2001 season. Every year since, the Wildcats have faced the Bulldogs and Rebels only in Lexington.
Last weekend, Kentucky dropped a disappointing match to Tennessee, 0-3, before traveling to South Carolina and securing a 3-1 victory. The win was the sixth league victory of the year for UK, double its conference wins a year ago. It was also UK?s 13th overall win of the year, topping last year?s total wins (12).
If the SEC Tournament were to occur this week, the Cats would receive a No. 5 seed based on the current standings. Kentucky and LSU have an identical SEC record, but UK would receive the higher seed after earning a 3-1 win over the Tigers in Lexington earlier in October.
Senior Amy Kaplan currently leads the SEC in hitting percentage with a .409 efficiency in league games. She had 14 kills on .560 hitting against South Carolina and added five blocks. Jenni Casper leads the SEC in digs, with 5.83 pg. She had 25 digs in the win over the Gamecocks Sunday.
Mississippi State enters the weekend with an 11-8 overall record and stands at 2-7 in league play. The Bulldogs have lost eight of their last 10 matches. Rachel Cooper leads Mississippi State, averaging 4.12 kpg, while hitting .194.
The Bulldogs run a 6-2 offense, playing two setters, and Eva Kriegel averages 6.46 apg. Andrea Mead averages 4.86 apg. For the defense, Nicole Palazzo leads the team in blocks with 63 on the season, while Megan Lukasek posts a team-leading 4.09 dpg. Tina Seals is in her second season as the head coach at MSU, her alma mater. Seals coached the Bulldogs to a 14-16 overall record in 2004, an 11-win improvement over the 2003 season.
Ole Miss, who faces nearby rival Memphis on Wednesday, entered the week with a 7-15 overall record and a 1-9 mark in league play. The Rebels have lost four matches in a row and 12 of their last 13.
Jaclyn Toohey is the Rebels? most efficient hitter, averaging 3.40 kpg on .235 hitting. Nikki Hill adds 3.85 kpg while hitting .204. Setter Ashleigh Shear averages 11.46 apg, while Nicole Mahan averages 3.13 dpg for the defense. The Rebels? leading blocker is Emily Jones, who as totaled 49 blocks on the year for a 0.70 bpg average. Ole Miss is coached by Joe Getzin, who is in his fourth season in Oxford. His career record is 70-134, which includes one year at Portland.
