Sept. 18, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky volleyball team will welcome Alabama to Memorial Coliseum Friday, Sept. 19, to begin Southeastern Conference action. First serve is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Kentucky enters the weekend riding a six-match winning streak, with four of those wins coming at 3-0 victories. Sophomore Lauren Rapp led UK in their 4-0 week, tallying 10 or more digs in each match while being named MVP of the UK Invitational. Three Wildcats (Lauren Rapp, Sarah Mendoza, Sarah Rumely) recorded double-double efforts in the tournament clinching win over Albany. UK has been impressive at home in the last three seasons, holding an overall mark of 31-6 including a 7-1 record this season.
Alabama enters the match atop the SEC West with a 7-2 record. The Crimson Tide is led on offense by a powerful attack that hits .270 as a team. Calli Johnson leads the SEC with a .410 hitting percentage, while Brooks Webster and Alyssa Meuth each average over 2.70 kills per set. Lauren Martin is the director of the offense dishing out an average of 9.73 assists per frame, while Amy Pauly leads the defense with 3.27 digs a set.
Since Craig Skinner arrived in Lexington the Alabama-Kentucky series has been renewed. Alabama held a seven match winning streak dating back to 2000 until Skinner’s led squad earned a 3-1 win at home in 2005. In Skinner’s first two-seasons, the two teams split as each took a match during the season. Last year, Alabama claimed both matches from the Wildcats including the opening SEC weekend loss. This marks the second straight season UK will host Alabama in the first weekend of SEC play.
Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team can be found at UKathletics.com. Video streaming and live stats can also be found at the official athletic homepage of the Kentucky Wildcats.
