Sept. 14, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 24th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team will return home after a seven-match road swing by opening the Southeastern Conference season at home against No. 13 Florida, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. UKathletics.com will have free live audio with Dick Gabriel and Mandy Robbeon the call.
Kentucky (6-4) endured one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation capped off with a match at No. 1 Nebraska in its final tune-up before the conference season. UK went toe-to-toe with the top-rated Huskers, becoming the first team this season outside of a five-set match with then No. 1 UCLA, to take a set off Nebraska. UK won the second frame between the two squads before falling four.
Senior Ashley Frazier lit up the Huskers for a career-high 20 kills on a sizzling .459 hitting percentage to lead the way for the Blue and White. Sophomore defensive specialist Jackie Napperhad a career-high 18 digs to aid the Wildcat cause.
Freshman Morgan Bergren, making just her second career start, passed out a UK season-high 47 assists and added 10 digs for her first career double-double effort. She would go on to earn SEC Freshman of the Week accolades following her performance. Kentucky will now enter the 20-match conference schedule beginning with SEC East rival Florida on Sunday.
No. 13 Florida enters the SEC weekend with a 6-2 overall record and will make a stop at Arkansas Friday night before venturing north to Lexington. Florida’s only two losses of the season have come to top-six opponents in Penn State and Texas.
This season, Florida is led offensively by Ziva Recek who has notched a team-leading 115 kills, averaging 4.26 per set at .406 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Chloe Mann has been the secondary offensive threat for the Gators. She’s tallied 94 kills, manufacturing a .378 hitting percentage in the early goings of the 2012 season.
In 2011, Kentucky and Florida split the season series with each team defending its home floor. The Gators own a 44-12 overall record all-time in the series and have won four of the last seven matchups.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the UK volleyball team. For additional coverage of the volleyball squad be sure and check out CatScratchesBlog.com/volleyball.
