Oct. 14, 2011
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Kentucky volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-19) match before a record-crowd at Mississippi State Friday night. The two teams squared off as the opening portion of Bulldog Madness in the Humphrey Coliseum to set a new attendance record for Mississippi State.
With the loss, Kentucky falls to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in conference action. Mississippi State improves to 10-8 and 5-4 in league play.
The Wildcats will return to action at Georgia on Friday, Oct. 21. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET. UK will then conclude play on the road at Auburn on Sunday, Oct. 23.
Junior libero Stephanie Klefot totaled 16 digs and sophomore Whitney Billings added 14 for UK. Junior Ashley Frazier led the offense with 15 kills. It marked the first loss of the season for UK when Frazier reaches double-figures in the kills column.
Mississippi State played inspired in front of its record crowd and limited Kentucky’s high-octane offense to a .141 attacking clip. The Bulldogs benefited from an off night at the net by UK’s blockers for 40 kills on .239 hitting. The leading blocking team in the SEC charted a mere five rejections on the night.
Mississippi State opened the match by scoring the first two points and maintained an edge for much of the opening stages of the set. The Wildcats forced the Bulldogs into a mishit and then Frazier scorched the defense with an ace into the back corner for the first lead of the set for the visitors at 16-15. Following a timeout, Mississippi State quickly bridged the gap and recaptured a two-point lead at 21-19. The Bulldogs staved off a late Wildcat rally to claim the opening set by a 25-23 margin.
UK charted 16 kills on .239 led by seven from Frazier. Mississippi State posted 18 on .302 hitting to withstand a potent UK attack.
Frazier began the scoring in the second with her eighth hammer of the match, but the Bulldogs quickly grabbed a 3-1 edge and never looked back. The home squad tallied 13 kills on .229 and kept the Wildcats at bay with just 10 kills on .057 hitting.
Consecutive blocks from the Bulldogs gave the home team an early edge in the third set. A kill from junior Christine Hartmann tied the score at five and the teams exchanged points back and forth from there. Billings found a spot to give the Wildcats its first lead of the set at 16-15, but the Bulldogs responded with a kill of its own to answer. An attacking error gave the home team the lead back and Mississippi State never relinquished the lead and claimed the final set by a 25-19 margin.
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.
