Dec. 7, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky volleyball team began its run in the 2013 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday afternoon by sweeping the Duquesne Dukes, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-17) to advance to the Lexington Sub-Regional final.

This is the third-straight season that Kentucky has advanced in the NCAA Tournament to the second round.

Aided by a 4-0 mid-set run that gave Kentucky a 24-19 lead, the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 opening-set win. The Wildcats and Dukes exchanged leads through the opening 18 points of the match, as neither side could get more than a two-point lead until DU took the 10-8 lead. Kentucky then went on a run that gave them a 24-19 lead and five set points to win the set. Duquesne rallied to keep it close and saved off four of the set points before a Whitney Billings kill ended the set.

The Wildcats then extended their lead to 2-0 in the match with a decisive 25-19 win in the second set. Kentucky raced out to a 9-5 lead before catapulting its lead to 11-5 to start the set. UK had six different players record a kill in the set, with senior Whitney Billings leading the way with five. Kentucky closed out the set winning the last three points, and clinched the 2-0 lead. Craig Skinner’s squad is now 20-1 this season when winning the second set.

In the third set, Kentucky again had a solid start out of the intermission, collecting an 8-4 lead in the early going. Billings continued her brilliant effort, collecting three consecutive kills to aid the Wildcats’ 6-0 run and put cushion on a 20-12 lead in the set. Kentucky then closed out the set in the third with a 25-17 third-set win to cap off the match.

With the win, Kentucky advances to the Lexington Sub-Regional final for a slot in the NCAA Sweet 16, as the Wildcats will face off against the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.