Alexandra Morgan was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Overall Record: 3-0, 0-0 SECRecord Last Week: : 3-0, 0-0 SECRecent ResultsFriday, Aug. 24 – Defeated North Carolina, 3-0Saturday, Aug. 25 – Defeated Lipscomb, 3-2Sautrday, Aug. 25 – Defeated Long Beach State, 3-1Upcoming Schedule (times eastern)Wednesday, Aug. 28 – at Louisville – 7:00 p.m.Friday, Aug. 31 – vs. Oregon – 7:00 p.m. (Athens, Ohio)Saturday, Sept. 1 – vs. Western Carolina – 1:00 p.m. (Athens, Ohio)Saturday, Sept. 1 – vs. Ohio – 8:00 p.m. (Athens, Ohio)TEAM NOTESKentucky held serve on their own court over the weekend, taking down a strong field of contenders from across the nation. The Wildcats hosted North Carolina, Lipscomb and Long Beach State in the Kentucky Classic, and sent all three opponents home with a loss courtesy of the Blue and White. After going a perfect 3-0 in the tournament, UK was crowned champions of the Kentucky Classic.The season opener saw Kentucky take down a North Carolina team who was receiving votes in the national polls in the preseason. But the Cats played their best match of the weekend in their first match, and took down the Tar Heels in an impressive three set sweep. Lauren O’Conner led the way offensively in the opener with 12 kills, while middle blocker Alexandra Morgan added eight kills while shutting down the UNC offensive attack with six blocks.On day two, Kentucky was pushed to the brink by a feisty Lipscomb bunch. Lipscomb may have been over matched physically and athletically, but they were a shot-savvy group with great court awareness and solid fundamentals. The Bisons took UK to the wire in five sets, but UK ultimately held on despite a less-than-stellar effort to get the win.Kentucky looked much more solid in the nightcap against Long Beach State Saturday night. In a 3-1 victory over the 49ers, Lauren O’Conner and Ashley Frazier pounded out 16 and 13 kills respectively to lead the offensive attack. It was their performance in the third set that propelled Kentucky to a momentum shifting victory with UK eventually taking control in the match in the fourth set to take home the Championship.O’Conner was named MVP of the tournament. Morgan and senior setter Christine Hartmann joined O’Conner on the All-Tournament team.On Monday afternoon, Morgan was tabbed as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Morgan was a huge threat offensively for the Cats over the weekend, but it was her shot-altering and blocking that made the biggest impact. The junior middle blocker had 16 blocks on the weekend, averaging 1.66 blocks per set, while kicking in a team-best .388 hitting percentage at 2.08 kills per set. It is Morgan’s first such honor of her career.

Related Stories

View all