Nov. 2, 2014

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The No. 18 Kentucky volleyball team continues its four match homestand vs. non-conference foe Morehead State on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The contest marks UK’s final non-conference match of the regular season.

The match will be broadcast on the SEC Network+, available to SEC Network subscribers on SECNetwork.com and Watch ESPN. Dave Baker and former UK coach and current AVCA President Kathy DeBoer will have the call. Additionally, Dick Gabriel and Mandy Robbe will call the action on 1580 AM while live stats can be found on UKathletics.com.

Kentucky (19-4, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) is coming off a sweep of Tennessee on Oct. 29. In second place in the SEC standings, UK is one win shy of its fourth consecutive 20-win season. The Wildcats have won 20 or more matches in six of the last seven seasons, all under head coach Craig Skinner.

Morehead State (2-24, 2-10 Ohio Valley) has won two of its last four contests, including a 3-1 win over Tennessee State on Saturday. The 18th-ranked Wildcats are the Eagles’ third top-20 opponent this season after a home loss to No. 15 Arizona State and a defeat at No. 11 Purdue.

SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE

Morehead State is 2-24 in 2014 and 2-10 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Eagles have won two of their last four matches, all in the last 10 days. MSU’s first victory of the year came on Oct. 24 a 3-2 win at Jacksonville State. Saturday, Morehead State downed Tennessee State, 3-1. In non-conference action, the Eagles played two ranked foes, falling to No. 15 Arizona State and at No. 11 Purdue, both 3-0 sweeps.

The Eagles are led by Hannah Sigala, who has 267 kills on .276 hitting with 87 blocks, all team highs. Laura McDermott has added 198 kills on .227 hitting along with 75 blocks, while Colbey Cameron leads MSU with 570 assists. Alli Evans has notched a team-high 203 digs and Cameron has 187 to lead MSU’s defensive effort.

MSU is coached by Jaime Gordon, in his 12th season. Gordon has amassed a 310-184 record in Morehead after guiding the Eagles to an OVC title in 2013. Under Gordon, Morehead State has won five conference titles and won 20 or more matches in each of the last eight seasons.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES

Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Morehead State, 25-7 after a 3-0 home sweep last season. UK, who has won 22 in a row and in the series, is 14-3 at home and 7-1 all-time in Morehead. Under 10th-year head coach Craig Skinner, Kentucky is a perfect 5-0 vs. the Eagles.

Last season, Kentucky swept Morehead State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 28-26) on Sept. 23, 2013 UK used runs of 10-2, 6-2 and 9-4 to close each frame against MSU. The Wildcats posted 49 kills in the match, 14 more than the Eagles’ 35. UK also out-dug MSU 60-48, but was out-blocked 12-6.

UP NEXT: VS. GEORGIA, MISSOURI

UK’s four-match homestand concludes Friday vs. Georgia and Sunday vs. Missouri. The Wildcats and Bulldogs square off Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. ET before UK hosts the Tigers at noon on Nov. 9 in a match televised on the SEC Network.

LAST TIME OUT: UK SWEEPS TENNESSEE

Senior Lauren O’Conner had 19 kills for the second consecutive match to lead Kentucky to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) victory over Tennessee on Wednesday at Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats recorded their 10th sweep of the season and claimed their fifth consecutive victory over the Lady Volunteers. UK tallied eight service aces, one shy of tying a season high.

O’Conner’s 19 kills on .515 hitting led the way offensively for the Wildcats, who had 48 kills and hit .333 on the night. Freshman Kaz Brown added seven kills on .462 hitting while sophomore Anni Thomasson and junior Sara Schwarzwalder each had five. Junior Morgan Bergren dished out 36 assists with nine digs, one shy of a second consecutive double-double outing. The setter also led UK by assisting on four of UK’s seven blocks.

The defensive charge was led by senior Jackie Napper’s 12 digs. Along with Bergren’s nine, sophomore Kelsey Wolf had six and freshman Ashley Dusek had five. O’Conner also posted four digs and Thomasson three. Brown, Schwarzwalder and freshman Emily Franklin all accounted for two block assists.

MEMORIAL MAGIC

Memorial Coliseum has been the home of the Wildcats for all 38 volleyball seasons, and the historic venue has provided the Wildcats with a home court advantage unlike any other.

Last year, Kentucky went 14-4 at home. The record included a 7-2 mark in SEC contests, a 3-2 upset win over then-No. 4 and undefeated Minnesota and a five-set win over in-state rival Louisville.

Overall: 389-150 (38th season) .722
Skinner Era: 127-29 (10th season) .814

RECORD WATCHING

• Head Coach Craig Skinner became UK’s all-time winningest coach with his 210th victory Sept. 13 vs. Georgia Southern.
• Skinner has coached a 17-win team in all 10 seasons at the helm of the Wildcats – the longest streak in program history.
• Senior Jackie Napper has 1,348 career digs, second in the UK record books in the rally scoring era and fourth in the all-time top 10. Her 369 through 23 matches in 2014 is seventh in a single season in the rally scoring era. Sophomore Anni Thomasson is 10th in the modern era with 479 career digs.
• Senior Lauren O’Conner, who leads all current SEC players with 1,093 kills, became the 15th Wildcat to notch 1,000 career kills on Oct. 5 vs. Texas A&M and is second in program history in the rally scoring era. O’Conner is also second in attack attempts with 3,015 and points with 1,310.5.
• Junior Morgan Bergren is third all-time in the rally scoring era and 10th in UK history with 2,288 career assists. Napper is sixth in the rally scoring era with 246 career assists. In the single season record books, Bergren’s 925 assists in 2014 is seventh in the modern era.
• O’Conner is fourth in the rally scoring era with 38 solo blocks, seventh with 231 total blocks and seventh with 193 block assists. Junior Sara Schwarzwalder is sixth in the rally scoring era with 257 total blocks and fifth with 241 block assists. Bergren is 10th with 153 total blocks.
• Schwarzwalder is fifth in the rally scoring era with a .289 attacking percentage.
• O’Conner is third in the rally scoring era with 83 aces.
• Napper is fourth in sets played with 443 and O’Conner fifth with 427 in the rally scoring era.