Sept. 6, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 16th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team will travel to Cincinnati, Tuesday for its final non-conference midweek match of the season for a 7 p.m. ET tilt. The Wildcats and Bearcats will meet for the second consecutive season with UK earning a thrilling five-set victory a year ago at Memorial Coliseum.
The Blue and White have posted four consecutive victories which include wins over South Florida and Ohio State. Senior Lauren Rapp has paced the squad earning MVP honors of the Kentucky Classic behind a pair of double-double efforts in UK’s three wins at the tournament. Rapp also struck for her 1,000th career kill against South Florida to become the 14th player in school allure to achieve the feat.
With three victories over Miami (OH), South Florida and Ohio State the Blue and White captured the Kentucky Classic for the second consecutive season. The Wildcats have now won three consecutive home tournaments over the last three seasons under coach Craig Skinner. Senior Lauren Rapp led the team for the week with three matches of double-figure kills, two double-double efforts and claiming MVP honors of the Classic Tournament. Freshman Whitney Billings continues to shine for the Wildcats as she paced the offense with double-digit kills in all four matches. Freshman Stephanie Klefot has continued to anchor the back-line defense which included a career-high 21-dig performance in a win over Miami (OH).
Cincinnati owns a 6-1 overall clip for the season and the lone loss suffered came at the hands of San Diego State which sits just out of the top-25 poll. The Bearcats are paced by Stephanie Niemer’s 4.23 kills per frame on .381 hitting. Cincinnati averages 15.14 kills per set and uses a .316 hitting percentage. Emily Macintyre leads the defense with 3.36 digs per set, while the squad posts 2.45 blocks per set.
In 2009’s meeting, the No. 17 Kentucky volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to capture its seventh consecutive win as they snatched a 3-2, (21-25, 27-29, 25-23, 25-22, 15-9) victory over Cincinnati in front of 1,099 fans at Memorial Coliseum.
It was Kentucky’s veterans who paved the way for the Blue and White to remain perfect on the year. Kentucky showed tenacity in fighting back from the largest set deficit of the season as Blaire Hiler came off the bench to provide a much needed spark and rattled off three consecutive points in the decisive fifth set. Classmate Lauren Rapp posted 10 kills and added three blocks.
With the match tied at two sets apiece Kentucky showed the dominance on display all season. UK used a match-high .526 hitting percentage and 12 kills to claim the 15-9 set win and the match victory. Hiler led the set with five kills and Gretchen Giesler chipped in with three.
Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.
