Sept. 2, 2010
Due to technical issues, the Friday match against Miami (Oh) will not be streamed live. It will be available as an archived game later.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off of a dramatic come-from-behind win over intrastate rival Louisville, the 16th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team will remain home to host the Kentucky Classic. Miami (OH), Ohio State and South Florida will join the Blue and White for a four-team round robin tournament at Memorial Coliseum beginning Friday.
The senior duo of Lauren Rapp and Blaire Hiler helped guide the youthful Cats to a win over Louisville snapping a nine-match winning streak by the Cardinals in the process. Rapp charted a season-high 15 kills and Hiler scored three of UK’s final five points in the 15-10 fifth set victory.
Sophomore Christine Hartmann and freshman Whitney Billings scored their first career double-double efforts in the win. Freshman Alexandra Morgan made her first career start and led the team with eight block assists in the winning effort.
A milestone to watch this weekend is Rapp chasing her 1,000th career dig. She has totaled 981 career digs and is just 19 shy of becoming the 14th member of the Wildcat program to tally the century mark in that category. She is 216 hammers away from breaking into the career top-10 list at Kentucky.
Kentucky will face Miami (OH) in the second match of Friday’s session at 7 p.m. ET. Miami (OH) charted a 1-2 record to open the season with a victory over Jacksonville State. The RedHawks fell to Belmont and Memphis in its other matches. Miami (OH) has six players averaging over 2.00 kills per set led by Cassie Farrell’s 2.50 kills per stanza on a .353 hitting clip. Miami (OH) has a pair of setters who have each dished out over 35 assists in the early portion of the season.
Saturday morning at 11 a.m. UK will take on South Florida to open the morning session. South Florida owns a 1-1 record entering the weekend at the Kentucky Classic. The Bulls swept Florida A&M and dropped a 3-0 match to then 15th-ranked Florida State. South Florida is paced by Maija Strazdina’s 3.17 kills per set and .444 hitting percentage. Janice Rivera leads the back-line defense with 4.50 digs per frame.
To wrap up play at the Kentucky Classic, UK and Ohio State will square off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening. Ohio State possesses a 3-0 overall record to begin the season with victories over VCU and Pittsburgh. The Buckeyes are receiving votes in the top-25 poll and remain just out of breaking the rankings. Ohio State is led by Katie Dull’s 3.82 kills per frame as the squad averages 13.73 per set. Setter Betsy Hone has charted 124 assists and leads the offense to a .354 hitting percentage. Defensively, Ohio State averages 3.09 blocks per stanza paced by Allie Schwarzwalder’s 2.20 per set.
This marks the first of two home tournaments this season for the Wildcats. Kentucky will host the UK Invitational next weekend after a mid-week stop in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Follow along with the Wildcats all season long at UKathletics.com.
Complete Kentucky Classic Schedule
Friday, Sept. 3
South Florida vs. Ohio State, 5 p.m. ET
Kentucky vs. Miami (OH), 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 4
Kentucky vs. South Florida, 11 a.m. ET
Ohio State vs. Miami (OH), 1 p.m. ET
Miami (OH) vs. South Florida, 5:30 p.m. ET
Kentucky vs. Ohio State, 7:30 p.m. ET
Marketing Promotions for Kentucky Classic Tournament
Friday, Sept. 3
•Doors open at 4:00 pm for first match on Friday
•Free admission for fans who arrive before 6:00 pm
•Post-match autographs on the south end of the court – entire team
Saturday, Sept. 4
•Doors open at 10:00 am for first session, 4:30 pm for second session
•One ticket is good for all matches that day
•Camper Reunion Day – 2010 UK Volleyball campers receive free admission
•Post-match autographs on the south end of the court – entire team (Second session only)
