Sept. 5, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Playing in front of her home crowd, senior Queen Nzenwa’s team-leading 19.5 points and 17 kills were not enough as Kentucky dropped an intense four-set match to St. John’s in the opening match of the Maryland tournament Friday night. The Red Storm, NCAA Sweet 16 members a season-ago, claimed a 25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 25-19 win at the Comcast Center Pavilion.
Nzenwa and sophomore Lauren Rapp combined for 38.5 points, as each had a team-high 17 kills on the night. Sophomore Sarah Mendoza continued her streak of reaching double-figures as she contributed 10 kills on the night. Junior Sarah Rumely dished out 45 assists and freshman Ann Armes had a career-best 12 digs to lead the Cats defensively.
Needing a set win after coming out of the intermission down 2-0, UK took the lead 4-3 in the third frame and never relinquished it until St. John’s rallied to save four match points and tie the score at 24-24. Kentucky then returned the favor when St. John’s went up 25-24. Rapp sent a kill to the back of the court and then the team of Nzenwa and Rumely combined for back-to-back rejections to force a fourth set. In the third frame, Kentucky hit a match-high .515 to save the match. Nzenwa had five kills with a .833 hitting percentage, and Rapp added six hammers on .750 hitting.
St. John’s opened with a 25-19 win in the first set to take the early overall edge. The score stayed close until UK took a 13-8 lead behind Rumely’s service ace. The Red Storm used a timeout and from there they went on a 7-2 run to bring the score to 15 a piece. The two teams traded points back and forth with the final tie coming at 18-18, before the Red Storm pulled away.
In a thrilling second, St. John’s edged the Wildcats 26-24. Nzenwa led the Blue and White in the frame as she registered five points, all on kills. The two teams traded points until St. John’s took a 13-11 lead mid-way through the frame. The Red Storm pulled a way for a 17-13 edge, but UK rattled off a run of their own to knot the score at 18 on freshman Ann Armes’ kill. With St. John’s at set point, sophomore Sarah Mendoza came up with a huge kill for the Wildcats to extend the set. Freshman Becky Pavan and Rumely combined for a block to make the score 24-24, but the Red Storm would take the next two points for the 2-0 lead.
St. John’s earned the match win behind 16 kills in the fifth frame. After knotting the score at nine, St. John’s took a 20-14 advantage. Kentucky used a timeout and came back with a four-point run highlighted by two of Rapp’s kills. Pulling within 18-20, St. John’s would rattle off five of the next six points to earn the tournament opening win.
Saturday, Kentucky will face Missouri at noon. The Wildcats will then play the final game of the Maryland Tournament when they face the host team at 7:30 p.m.
Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
