The Kentucky volleyball team returns home on Friday, Sept. 29, to face No. 10 Florida at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats also travel to Auburn, Ala., this weekend to face the Tigers at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Wildcats (9-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) split a pair of matches on their swing through Mississippi this past weekend. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 3-1 on Friday in Starkville, before falling 3-1 to Ole Miss on Sunday in Oxford. Junior middle blocker Nicole Britenriker (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the way for the Wildcats, posting double-doubles in both matches this past weekend, giving her three straight and five double-doubles this season. Britenriker posted 23 kills, 13 digs and five blocks in UK?s last outing against Ole Miss.
Britenriker is tops on the squad and ranks second in the SEC in kills with 4.48 kpg. She leads a Wildcat offense that ranks second in the league with 16.52 kills per game as a team. Freshman setter Sarah Rumely (New Palestine, Ind.), a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week selection, continues to post impressive numbers and ranks first on the team in hitting percentage (.353). Rumely leads the team and ranks eighth in the nation with 0.73 services aces per game, while she is 14th in the country with 13.11 assists per game.
The Gators, coached by former UK assistant Mary Wise, enter Friday?s match with a 10-2 record, including a 3-1 mark in league action. Florida is coming off a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Alabama and Auburn last weekend. The Gators? two wins allowed them to rebound from a surprising Sept. 17 loss at South Carolina. Junior middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth leads the Gators with 3.46 kills per game and has led the squad in kills in four consecutive matches. Junior setter Angie McGinnis is tops on the team and third in the SEC in assists with 12.79 assists per game.
Kentucky and Florida meet for the 45th time in school history with the Gators holding a 35-9 advantage in the all-time series. UK has not defeated UF since the 1990 season and currently is on a 33-match losing streak to Florida.
Auburn, which plays host to Tennessee on Friday evening, enters the weekend with a 10-5 record and a 2-2 league mark. The Tigers are currently tied for second place in the Western Division with Alabama and Arkansas. Auburn is coming off a 3-0 win over intrastate rival Alabama last Sunday. Junior outside hitter Rachel Shanks leads the Tigers and ranks seventh in the SEC with 3.95 kills per game.
UK and Auburn meet for the 29th time in program history with the Cats owning a 20-8 lead in the all-time series. Kentucky has won six of the last 11 meetings between the two teams, but the Tigers have claimed three consecutive from the Wildcats.
?Our team has had a good week of practice and we are looking forward to playing a top 10 team like Florida to see where we are as the season develops,? said second-year head coach Craig Skinner. ?Then we have to go play a tough Auburn team who is having a good season on their home floor on Sunday. This should be a challenging weekend but I think we?re up to the task.?
