OXFORD, Miss. ? The University of Kentucky dropped a 3-1 (25-30, 33-31, 25-30, 24-30) decision at Ole Miss today, Sept. 24, to fall to 9-3 on the year and evened its Southeastern Conference mark at 2-2. The Rebels move to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Junior Nicole Britenriker tallied her second straight double-double and her fifth of the year with a match-high 23 kills to go along with 13 digs and five blocks. Sophomore Ashlee Fisher tied a career high with 16 kills, while Melissa Popp ended with 11 kills and nine digs in the loss. Jenni Casper led the way for UK with 16 digs, while Alisa Pierce finished with nine scoops.
In game one, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. The Cats held a four-point edge at 10-6 but saw the Rebels roll off seven straight to take a 13-10 advantage. Nicole Britenriker?s kill snapped the scoring streak and pulled UK within two at 13-11, but Ole Miss continued to dominate and went on top by five at 23-17. A kill by Melissa Popp started a Wildcat comeback as they pulled to within two at 24-22 on a block assist by Queen Nzenwa and Sarah Rumely. A pair of kills by outside hitter Ashlee Fisher helped the Cats claw to within three at 27-24. A kill by Nzenwa, a kill off a dig by Jenni Casper and a putdown by Britenriker made it a one-point contest at 28-27 and force an Ole Miss timeout. The brief break helped the Rebels who went on to take game one by a final of 30-28.
Game two was a see-saw affair from the opening serve. There were 23 ties in the second set alone, including an 11-11 score until the Wildcats rolled off four straight points on a pair of kills by Nzenwa and a block assist by Nzenwa and Fisher to take a 14-11 lead and force a Rebel timeout. UM would rally to tie the score at 17-17. UK would lead by two (22-20) after a Rebel service error but the score was tied again at 23-23 and neither team led by more than a point the rest of the way. That is until the Wildcats scored three straight capped by a Britenriker kill and Nzenwa?s eighth kill of the game to go on for a 33-31 win.
The even play continued in the early goings of game three until Ole Miss took an 8-6 edge. The Wildcats answered with a 6-0 run capped by a block solo by Tess Edwards to go on top by a score of 12-8 and force a Rebel timeout. Ole Miss came out of the break and made a 7-1 run to take a two-point lead at 15-13 which caused the Wildcats to call for time. Kentucky pulled to within a point at 19-18 on a kill by Fisher and a UM hitting error, but the Rebels scored seven straight to take a 26-18 lead. A kill by Edwards snapped the UK scoring drought and the Cats rolled off five straight points to take pull to within four at 26-22. Kentucky cut the lead to three at 27-24 but would come no closer as the Rebels outscored the Wildcats 3-1 the rest of the way to take game three by a score of 30-25.
UK opened game four with a 5-2 run but the Rebels quickly tied it at 8-8. UM scored four straight on a pair of kills by Lauren Moffett to take a 12-8 lead before the Wildcats ended the rally on a kill by Jenni Casper. UK pulled to within two at 16-14 on an ace by Heather Hausfeld to force Ole Miss to use its first timeout. UM pushed its lead back to five at 23-18 with the aid of a Kentucky hitting error. The Cats pulled to within four at 25-21 after a powerful putdown by Britenriker but the Rebels pulled away again and took a 27-21 lead on a service ace. A pair of kills by Nzenwa and Fisher made it a 28-23 UM lead and a hitting error on match point cut the lead to five at 29-24 but the Rebels would go on to take the fourth and final game by a score of 30-24.
UK returns to action on Friday, Sept. 29, when it hosts Florida. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
