Sept. 29, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky volleyball team will wrap-up a four-match road swing this weekend with two matches against Southeastern Conference Western Division foes. Up first for the Blue and White is an 8 p.m. ET tilt with Arkansas Friday.
Kentucky (12-3, 3-1 SEC) has wins in 10 of its last 11 matches, with the only setback coming at No. 6 Florida. UK rebounded from the loss with its best offensive performance of the season in a 3-1 victory at South Carolina in its last time out.
The Wildcats tossed down 62 kills on a blistering .398 hitting percentage. The hitting clip was the best of the season for the Blue and White. Furthermore, three players struck for 10 or more kills and combined for a mere four errors on 65 attempts. Senior Becky Pavan posted a squad-best 15 kills on .520 hitting and junior Ashley Frazier connected for 14 hammers on .522 hitting. Senior Ann Armes was flawless with 11 hammers and a .647 hitting percentage.
In two matches last week, Pavan averaged 4.00 kills per set on a team-best .469 hitting clip. She charted 49 attempts and committed just five errors in the run. She also notched a team-high six blocks in the win over the Gamecocks and totaled a team-high 4.50 points per stanza. With the five block assists over the weekend, Pavan moved into ninth place all-time for block assists with 310 for her career.
Junior setter Christine Hartmann directed the offense to the tune of 14.20 kills per set on .343 hitting with seven players charting one or more kills per stanza. Hartmann matched her own career-high with seven kills in both matches last week and charted a .429 hitting percentage in the run.
Freshman Lauren O’Conner struck for eight kills and contributed defensively as well. The Taylor Mill, Ky., native posted career-highs with seven digs and four blocks in the win over South Carolina.
Arkansas owns a 10-4 overall record and a 2-1 mark in league play with wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Kelli Stipanovich ranks as the team leader with 3.41 kills per set and All-SEC performer Jasmine Norton tosses down 2.98. Janeliss Torres leads the blocking effort with 1.03 rejections per set.
UK owns an all-time clip of 15-13 against the Razorbacks and an 11-2 mark in the Craig Skinner era.
Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum will play host to the NCAA Regionals Dec. 9-10. UK is one of four sites selected for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matchups with one team advancing to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, from the Lexington Region.Opening night matches are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. ET. Saturday’s finals is set for a 4:30 p.m. ET first serve.
Tickets are now on sale through the UK Ticket Office. All-Session Tickets are reserved for all ages at $14. General Admission tickets for adults are priced at $12 and students or seniors’ general admission is slated for $8.
Single session tickets are priced at $8 for reserved for all ages. General admission for adults is priced at $7, with students and seniors priced at $5. Youth single session tickets are $4.
For tickets or more information feel free to call, 1-800-928-CATS.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the UK volleyball team and all of Kentucky’s 22 teams.
