Oct. 20, 2011
LEXINGTON Ky. – After enduring four matches in a seven-day stretch, the 24th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team received a much-needed week off from competition and will now return to the road for two matches this weekend. Up first for the Blue and White is a 7 p.m. ET match at Georgia on Friday.
Kentucky enters the midway point of the Southeastern Conference season owning a 17-4 overall record and an 8-2 clip in league play. The Wildcats have reached 17 victories or more for the seventh consecutive season under the direction of Craig Skinner.
UK possesses the most balanced offensive attack in the conference. The Wildcats have six players who average between 2.20 and 3.00 kills per set. Their 14.20 kills per stanza ranks as the best in the conference and among the top-20 in the nation in the same category.
Junior Ashley Frazier is the leader of the attack with 3.00 kills per set and she has reached double-figures in a match in seven of UK’s 10 conference matches thus far. Sophomore Whitney Billings continues her steady play as the most complete all-around performer for the Wildcats. Billings averages 2.20 kills per set while also adding 2.65 digs and 0.64 blocks per set.
Junior setter Christine Hartmann is directing the Wildcat offense to a .247 hitting clip with UK charting a .300 attacking clip or higher on four occasions against league foes. That mark includes a season-best .398 clip in a four-set victory at South Carolina.
Junior libero Stephanie Klefot continues to rank as the best in the league with 4.68 digs per set and has twice been tabbed the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. She has notched 10 or more scoops in a match in 20 of UK’s 21 matches this season.
Georgia owns a 9-11 overall record and a 5-5 mark in SEC action through the midway slate of the season. The Bulldogs are led by a pair of attackers who average 3.16 kills per set or more in Kathleen Luft and Brittany Northcut. Kathleen Gates dishes out 11.03 assists per set as Georgia averages 13.26 kills a stanza.
Kentucky captured the first match of the season between the two foes in a 3-1 victory in Lexington in mid-September.
Behind career-performances from freshman Lauren O’Conner and senior Ann Armes, the Kentucky volleyball team earned its ninth consecutive victory with a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15) win over visiting Georgia.
O’Conner posted a then career-high 14 kills on .364 hitting and added a pair of blocks to lead the offensive output for the Blue and White. Armes tallied 11 kills on a sizzling .450 hitting clip and added a career-high seven blocks.
Hartmann did a marvelous job of distributing the ball in UK’s win with six players earning five or more kills in the victory. Hartmann posted 42 assists and directed the Wildcat offense to 54 kills on .292 hitting with an average of 13 kills per stanza.
Frazier contributed eight kills and three blocks. Senior Becky Pavan posted seven kills in three sets of action, while classmate Gretchen Giesler turned in a five-kill performance.
Billings added six kills and 10 digs, while Klefot continued to shine with 17 scoops in the win.
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.
