SYRACUSE, N.Y. ? The Kentucky volleyball team won its second straight 3-0 decision today, Sept. 1, as it defeated host team Syracuse in the opening game of the Big Orange Tournament. The Wildcats won 30-23, 30-19, 30-25, to move to 2-0 on the season. Syracuse falls to 1-4 with the loss.
Junior transfer Nicole Britenriker set a UK career-high and led the team with 13 kills. Sophomore Queen Nzenwa had a season-high 11 kills, while senior Jenni Casper led the way with 16 digs. Sophomore Alisa Pierce added a season-high 11 digs in the win. Melissa Popp also finished in double digit kills with 10, while Ashlee Fisher added nine. Fisher hit .533 for the match, while Britenriker posted a .370 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats had 12 service aces and hit .337 for the match. The Cats posted a .371 hitting percentage in the third game.
?Our passing and ball handling allowed us to hit for a very high percentage tonight,? said second-year head coach Craig Skinner. ?To be able to do that and have 12 aces allows us to play great on both sides of the ball. We played a very solid match tonight, both offensively and defensively.?
In the opening game, the Wildcats roared out to a 9-4 lead behind the strength of two kills by senior Melissa Popp. The Orange scored three unanswered before a third Popp kill made it a10-7 UK advantage. Syracuse rallied again and tied the game at 10-10, but it was Popp again who led the Cats back to four-point lead (15-11) after a kill and an ace by the senior outside hitter. Tess Edwards? put-down pushed the score to 18-13 but the Orange would outscore the Wildcats 10-6 to pull within a point at 24-23 and force a Kentucky timeout. Skinner inspired his squad who scored five unanswered, capped by a game-ending ace by Sarah Rumely, to take the opening game by a score of 30-23.
Syracuse jumped out to an early 4-2 lead in the second game, but a pair of kills by Nicole Britenriker helped the Cats take a 7-4 edge. The Orange would not back down and tied the score at 7-7. Ashlee Fisher pounded out three straight kills for the Cats as UK took an 11-9 lead. A pair of Rumley aces and two kills by Queen Nzenwa put UK on top by a score of 15-11. The Cats took a 19-13 lead which forced a timeout by the Orange. The Wildcats continued their hot hitting, outscoring Syracuse 11-7 the rest of the way to take game two in dominating fashion by a final of 30-19.
In the third and final game, Syracuse led from the start. The Orange led 10-6, but saw their lead shorten after three straight kills by Ashlee Fisher and a block by Britenriker to pull the Cats within one at 11-10. Syracuse took a 14-11 lead but the Cats closed the gap with a pair of kills by Popp and a put-down by Edwards to knot the score at 14. The Orange took a 16-14 lead before the Wildcats rallied for four straight to take their first lead of game three at 18-16. UK made it a 23-18 lead after a kill and ace by Britenriker and a kill by Nzenwa. Syracuse would come no closer as the Cats closed it out with a pair of kills by freshman Heather Hausfeld who made her collegiate debut in the win. The Wildcats took the final game by a score of 30-24 to stay undefeated.
Kentucky returns to action tomorrow, Sept. 2, when they take on Siena at 10 a.m. The Cats wrap up play at the Syracuse tournament with a 5 p.m. match against San Diego State.
