Oct. 12, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Behind sophomore Sarah Mendoza’s second consecutive double-double the No. 25 Kentucky volleyball team claimed a sweep of South Carolina in Columbia, Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats (16-3, 7-1) earned the victory behind scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-22.
Mendoza paced the UK attack with a team-high 11 kills while picking up 12 digs for her second straight double-double effort. Sophomore Lauren Rapp led the way in the points column accounting for 14 tallies off of 10 kills and a team-high five blocks. Senior Queen Nzenwa was the other UK player in double-digits with 11 kills, while chipping in with three blocks. Junior Sarah Rumely dished out 36 assists and added a pair of blocks to go along with seven scoops. Junior BriAnne Sauer added 13 digs for the Blue and White. Freshman Becky Pavan chipped in with nine kills and three blocks, while junior Brooke Bartek contributed two kills and a block in the winning effort.
“This team always seems to respond positively and today was no exception,” said Head Coach Craig Skinner. “I’m very happy with the way we played today and grabbing another win on the road.”
After suffering a loss Friday night, Kentucky has won 13 of its last 14 matches with nine of those victories coming in the form of 3-0 sweeps.
Nzenwa’s four block assists on the weekend has pushed her into a tie for fifth place all-time in the SEC record books. She has totaled 502 for her career.
South Carolina opened the first set with a kill, but then immediately gave a point to Kentucky on a service error. The Wildcats gained an early lead behind three straight kills from Rapp, Rumely and Nzenwa. South Carolina climbed back into it with three consecutive points to tie it at seven. However, Rumely got things going with another kill. Mendoza followed suit, and then Pavan and Rumely teamed up for a block to rattle off three straight points for the Blue and White. The score remained close for the entire portion of the middle of the set. An attacking error by Kentucky brought the score to a tie at 16-16. However, the Wildcats would take three of the next four points behind kills from Mendoza and Pavan and claim a 19-17 edge. The Gamecocks would fight back and tie the score at 21-21, forcing Kentucky into a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats rattled off four straight points with a kill from Rapp and a pair of hammers from Nzenwa. South Carolina saved set point, before Nzenwa ended the set with a Wildcat win on a powerful slam.
“I thought we played our best volleyball in each set after point 20,” Skinner added. “We seemed to take control and finish out strong each time.”
The two squads were fairly even to open things up, as the Blue and White slightly out-hit the home team .209-.200. Kentucky tallied three team blocks while the Gamecocks registered one. Carolina gave UK three points however on service errors.
Mendoza opened the second set with a kill followed by one from the right-arm of Pavan to give UK an early 2-0 lead. South Carolina fought back to tie the score at nine, and the home team would actually take a one point edge at 11-10. However, Kentucky would take six of the next nine points to claim a comfortable 17-13 edge. UK would claim the set on a combined block from Pavan and Rapp in signature Kentucky fashion.
Kentucky used a .333 hitting clip behind six kills from Mendoza to handedly take the second frame. Rapp added four kills in the set, while Nzenwa and Pavan each chipped in with two. The Wildcats’ defense was stellar forcing South Carolina into two blocks and a .129 hitting percentage.
South Carolina opened the third frame by taking a quick 3-0 lead. The Wildcats eventually tied it up at nine-a-piece. The two teams traded points back and forth until UK claimed a two-point advantage at 12-10 off of a solo block from Rapp and an error by the Gamecocks. Kentucky maintained a lead throughout the set, but never broke away for more than two points from the home squad. With the score at 19-17 after a Pavan kill, South Carolina used its final timeout. Out of the break, it was the Gamecocks who earned three straight points to take a 20-19 advantage forcing Kentucky into a timeout. Pavan immediately got things going for the Blue and White tying it up at 20. A block from Nzenwa and Rapp gave UK an edge, but the Gamecocks tied it back up. A blocking error gave UK another lead it would never hand back. The match ended on a block from Rumely and Nzenwa. Rapp served up an ace, and the Gamecocks saved match point once before Nzenwa pounded home a kill giving UK the sweep, 25-22.
The Wildcats hit a match-high .394 in the third frame and five different players had two or more kills in the set.
Kentucky returns home for its next action of the season. The Wildcats will welcome Arkansas to Memorial Coliseum on Friday at 7 p.m., and then entertain Ole Miss on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
