Aug. 30, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Becky Pavan led a stiffening Kentucky attack as she registered six kills and six service aces in just her second collegiate start to pace UK to a 3-0 sweep of Western Carolina Saturday morning at Memorial Coliseum.
UK hit at a .350 clip, with Pavan leading the charge with a career-best .750 hitting percentage on 6-of-8 attempts. Five Wildcat attackers registered at least four kills, with sophomore Sarah Mendoza reaching double-figures with 10. Senior Queen Nzenwa tallied six, sophomore Lauren Rapp added four and freshman Gretchen Giesler, in her collegiate debut, notched four of her own.
“It was really good to see all of our middles contributing when they had their chances,” said Kentucky coach Craig Skinner.
The Blue and White jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage after taking the first set by a margin of 25-12. UK went up 12-3 early off of some early Catamount miscues. Kentucky picked up four service aces in their early lead and would go on to finish with 13 as a team for the match. Six different Wildcats had a hammer in the dominating first set.
Kentucky then took the second set by the score of 25-18. Pavan recorded a perfect 3-for-3 set on kills, and redshirt freshman Ann Armes seeing her first collegiate action, enjoyed a 2-for-2 attacking set. Mendoza led the way with five kills in the second frame.
In the third and decisive set, Kentucky mirrored their first set with a 25-12 win. Sophomore Blaire Hiler paced the UK attack with a 3-for-4 performance on .750 hitting to close out the match and the win for the Blue and White.
“I’m really happy with how we handled the match,” Skinner said. “We were able to sustain a level of focus and intensity throughout the entire match.”
Mendoza narrowly missed recording a double-double with 10 kills and eight scoops. Junior Sarah Rumely dished out 32 assists on the day while adding two kills, two blocks and three digs.
Kentucky returns to the court this evening at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will get their first chance of the young season to play the spoiler role, as UK welcomes 13th-ranked Wisconsin to Memorial Coliseum.
In the second match of the morning session at the Kentucky Classic, No. 13 Wisconsin swept Pittsburgh 3-0. The Badgers earned set wins by the scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-16. Brittney Dolgner recorded 16 kills to lead three Wisconsin players with double-doubles.
Western Carolina and Pittsburgh will meet at 5 p.m. to open the evening session of tonight’s action.
Live results of the matches will be available at UKathletics.com. Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team and the Kentucky Classic this weekend can be found at Kentucky’s official website.
