Oct. 3, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Fresh off a historical upset at Florida Friday night, the 15th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team returns to action at South Carolina on Sunday. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. ET.
Kentucky (14-1, 4-0) pulled off a five-set upset of the fifth ranked Gators on Friday night marking the first time the Blue and White picked up a win in Gainesville in 20 seasons. UK has now beaten the Gators in back-to-back matches after suffering 38 consecutive losses to the Gators previously. Despite the monumental victory, the Wildcats must refocus and hit the court once again with a match-up against South Carolina.
The Gamecocks fell at the hands of Tennessee Friday night in four sets. South Carolina (10-4, 2-3) opened the match with a set-one victory, but the Volunteers took the next three sets for the win.
The Gamecocks posted an early-season impressive win over Clemson to begin the year. Ivana Kujundzic leads the South Carolina attack with an average of 4.27 kills per set. Hannah Lawing also has struck for 3.28 kills a frame and leads the team with 164 total kills. South Carolina as a unit averages 13.60 kills a stanza while limiting their opponents to just 12.04 kills. Teresa Stenlund leads the effort at the net with 22 blocks on the season.
Kentucky has continued to get top-notch effort from its entire rotation. The Wildcats have five players who average more than two kills per set. Junior Blaire Hiler was dominating threat offensively for UK in its win over Florida. Hiler tallied nine kills on a .208 hitting clip. On several occasions she was competing against a double-block and was able to slip the ball past the defenders for a kill.
Sophomore Gretchen Giesler has also continued to be a much-needed spark to UK’s front line. Giesler totaled a career-high 11 kills in the win at Florida and led the team with five blocks–including two solo rejections.
Senior BriAnne Sauer has notched 16 or more digs in each of Kentucky’s four Southeastern Conference matches. The reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week scooped up match-high 22 digs last night after tallying 20 in a win over Arkansas a week ago.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date news, highlights and features from the Kentucky volleyball team.
