The Kentucky volleyball team looks to rebound from a tough loss to No. 18 LSU this weekend when it hits the road for its first Southeastern Conference trip of the season. The Wildcats will face Mississippi State at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, before heading to Oxford on Sunday, Sept. 24,, to take on Ole Miss in a 2:30 p.m. start.
The Wildcats (8-2, 1-1 SEC) split a pair of matches with Arkansas and LSU this past weekend in Lexington. UK defeated the Lady ?Backs 3-0, before falling 3-1 to the No. 18 Tigers. Kentucky is led by middle blocker Nicole Britenriker (Cincinnati, Ohio), who is tops on the team with 156 kills and second on the squad with 31 blocks. Britenriker?s 4.33 kills per game rank the junior third in the SEC.
Freshman setter Sarah Rumely (New Palestine, Ind.), twice named the SEC Freshman of the Week this season, is the league?s assists leader with 13.22 dishes per game. In addition, Rumely?s .369 hitting percentage leads the Wildcats and ranks her seventh in the SEC. Senior libero Jenni Casper (Louisville, Ky.) leads a potent UK defense with 4.86 scoops per game which is good for second in the league.
The Wildcats are a combined 56-8 (.875) all-time vs. this weekend?s opponents. The Bulldogs enter Friday?s contest with a 10-2 record and a 1-1 mark in league play. Mississippi State, which defeated Ole Miss 3-0 last Friday, enters its match with UK as the SEC?s team leader in hitting percentage at .323. The Rebels are 8-4 and 0-2 in conference action having lost to MSU and Alabama this past weekend. Entering this weekend, Ole Miss has played its last eight matches on the road and has not played at home since Aug. 26.
Kentucky and Mississippi State meet for the 32nd time in school history. The Wildcats hold a dominant 30-1 edge in the all-time series and have won 12 consecutive matches dating back to Sept. 22, 1995. The Cats swept the Bulldogs last season in Starkville 3-0 on Oct. 28, 2005. Mississippi State?s only series win came on Oct. 16, 1994 – a 3-2 victory in Starkville.
The Cats and Ole Miss Rebels meet for the 34th time in school history, with UK leading the all-time series 26-7. Kentucky has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two schools, including a 3-0 win in Oxford last year.
?We?re looking forward to our first road challenge SEC,? said second-year head coach Craig Skinner. ?We worked hard in practice this week on a couple of things that we didn?t do against LSU. We?re looking forward to putting that to the test this weekend against Mississippi State and Ole Miss.?
