Oct. 16, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off of consecutive four-set victories in Southeastern Conference action the Kentucky volleyball team returns home to host its second match of the weekend with Mississippi State visiting on Sunday. The match is slated for a 1:30 p.m. ET start.

Kentucky (10-9, 4-5) earned a thrilling comeback victory over Alabama on Friday night. Freshman Whitney Billings earned her fifth career double-double effort to lead the Blue and White with 14 kills and 12 digs. Junior Becky Pavan totaled 13 kills on .500 hitting and UK’s middle blocker has committed just one error in the last eight sets of action.

Setter Christine Hartmann has found her groove in directing the UK offense. The sophomore floor general dished out a match-high 40 assists against Alabama while finding five different Kentucky players for seven or more kills in the match. Hartmann also added 10 digs to notch her fourth career double-double.

Mississippi State has earned a 10-9 overall record and a 2-6 clip in SEC play after falling to Tennessee on Friday night. The Bulldogs are paced by Caitlin Rance’s 3.77 kills per stanza on .241 hitting. Ashley Newsome adds 3.20 hammers as the Bulldogs total 12.58 kills per set. Paris Perret dishes out 9.32 assists per set, while Newsome adds 1.25 blocks per stanza to lead the defense.

The Wildcats own a 37-1 overall record against Mississippi State. Kentucky has not dropped a match to the Bulldogs since the 1994 season.

The 11th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats rolled to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-19) sweep of Mississippi State in the teams’ last meeting in 2009. UK posted 52 kills on a .364 attacking percentage in overwhelming Mississippi State for the second sweep of the Bulldogs in the season.

Kentucky earned its 13th sweep of the season behind a potent offensive attack that was clicking on all cylinders. Five Kentucky players registered eight or more kills on the afternoon led by junior Lauren Rapp’s match-high 13 hammers. Blaire Hiler tossed down nine kills while Gretchen Giesler and Pavan chipped in with eight a piece.

Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.

Match Promotions

-FREE admission when for fans that show a ticket stub from the UK vs. South Carolina football game
-Lexington Firefighter Appreciation Day – Kids can get their picture taken on an official Lexington fire truck before the match