Sept. 7, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 18th-ranked Kentucky volleyball program is set to host Cincinnati in a midweek tilt after capturing its second consecutive tournament title. The Wildcats return home for one match before hitting the road later in the week holding a perfect 6-0 record.

Kentucky was on the road for the first time this weekend and came away with three more wins and the Indiana Adidas tournament title.

Senior Sarah Rumely was named MVP after pacing the team to a .350 hitting percentage and 151 kills for the weekend. Rumely dished out 127 assists and also recorded a team-best nine aces.

Sophomore Ann Armes had a break-out weekend registering a career-high 15 kills in a win over Indiana while averaging 3.40 kills per frame for the tournament. Armes along with sophomore Becky Pavan were also named to the All-Tournament team with Rumely.

Cincinnati enters the midweek match with a 4-2 record after posting three wins at the Bearcat Invitational this weekend. The Bearcats’ two losses came at the hands of Utah and Arizona State in Salt Lake City during the first week of the season.

Stephanie Niemer leads the squad with an impressive 5.42 kills per set average on .309 hitting for the season. Cincinnati has four players who average 2.00 kills or more per frame. Setter Annie Fesl has posted 285 assists and leads her team to a .219 attack percentage. On defense, Jamie Frey paces the back row with 3.04 digs per frame while Becca Refenes has totaled 19 blocks for a 0.79 average.

This is the first meeting between Kentucky and Cincinnati in three seasons. The Bearcats took that meeting by a 3-2 score in Nov. of 2006. For the series history the Wildcats lead 13-2 all-time, but Cincinnati has won the last two matchups.

Live stats and complete coverage of UK and the Bearcats can be found at UKathletics.com.