Junior Nicole Britenriker (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior Melissa Popp (Indianapolis, Ind.) each registered a team-high 12 kills and the Kentucky volleyball team claimed its Southeastern Conference opener for the first time since 2000 with a resounding 3-0 (30-18, 30-28, 30-25) victory over Arkansas in Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky improves to 8-1 on the season ? its best nine-game mark since the 1997 campaign ? and 1-0 in league action, while the Lady ?Backs drop to 7-2, 0-1. Errors proved costly for Arkansas, which only hit over .100 in just one of the three frames.
Britenriker?s 12 kills came on a squad-best .280 hitting percentage with three blocks and two service aces, while Popp also added seven digs. Sophomore outside hitter Ashlee Fisher (West Bend, Wis.) added 11 kills on .207 hitting with three blocks. The Wildcats out-hit Arkansas .199-.044. Sophomore middle blocker Queen Nzenwa (Baltimore) registered a season-best seven blocks, while senior libero Jenni Casper (Louisville, Ky.) led the defensive effort with 14 digs.
?I am very excited that we could come out and get a 3-0 win to start the SEC schedule,? UK head coach Craig Skinner said. ?This match will give our team a lot of confidence, but we need to take it up another notch on Sunday against LSU.?
Kentucky broke to an early 5-3 advantage on a kill by Nzenwa down the middle. The Wildcats extended their lead to 10-5 on a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist Alisa Pierce (Louisville, Ky.). The Cats kept rolling as Popp posted a pair of kills to spark a 4-0 UK run and force an Arkansas timeout with the Wildcats ahead 15-8.
After the Lady ?Backs scored two consecutive points, Britenriker posted a sharp kill down the line before Nzenwa and freshman setter Sarah Rumely (New Palestine, Ind.) teamed for a block to put UK in front by eight, 18-10. With the Cats ahead 21-14, Arkansas made three errors on the next three plays to extend Kentucky?s lead to 24-15. The Wildcats cruised to a 30-18 victory in the opening frame, out-hitting the Lady ?Backs .267-.026.
Arkansas stormed back to begin the second frame as the Lady ?Backs took an early 4-1 lead. Kentucky rallied to knot the score at 5-5 on a put-down by Nzenwa. On the next play, Fisher soared above the net to kill a free ball and move the Cats ahead 6-5. The Lady ?Backs again tied the score at 7-7 on an ace by Jessica Dorrell, but UK went back in front 9-8 on back-to-back blocks by the duo of Nzenwa and Rumely.
A put-down by Popp moved the Cats ahead by three, 12-9, but Arkansas continued to hang tough, rallying to come within 12-11. With UK leading 13-12, the Cats went on a 5-2 run to distance itself at 18-14. Two consecutive kills by Arkansas? Kele Brewer brought the Lady ?Backs back into the match at 18-17 and a put-down by Denitza Koleva tied the score at 18-18 and forced Skinner to burn a timeout. Out of the break, Arkansas went back in front 21-19 and after four more ties, a kill by Nzenwa and a put-down from Britenriker brought the Cats to game point at 29-28. A setting error against the Lady ?Backs gave the Wildcats the 30-28 game-two victory.
UK streaked to a 3-1 lead in the third game after an ace by Britenriker. The Lady ?Backs rallied to knot the score at 4-4 before a kill by Nzenwa on the right side ended the Cats? drought. The Wildcats reeled off three of the next four points to move ahead 8-6. A put-down by Fisher off the block extended the Kentucky advantage to three, 10-7.
From that point the two teams battled closely as an Arkansas block allowed the Lady ?Backs to tie the score at 11-11. After two more ties, the Cats broke through with a Popp kill and a block by Britenriker and Pierce to move in front 15-13. Kentucky extended its advantage to five, 19-14, and forced an Arkansas timeout. Three Lady ?Back errors allowed the Cats to move ahead by seven points, 25-18, and, after Arkansas made several attempts at a late-game rally, Kentucky closed out the match with a 30-25 win. The Lady ?Backs hit -.051 in the match?s final frame.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday when it hosts No. 18 LSU. Opening serve is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be regionally televised on SEC-TV.
