No. 13 Kentucky Heads North to Marquette Invitational
MILWAUKEE – The No. 13 Kentucky volleyball team will compete in its final non-conference tournament of the season when it travels to the Marquette Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The Cats will face Loyola (Chicago) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and wrap up the tournament at Marquette on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Sunday’s match with Marquette will be streamed live at GoMarquette.com. Live stats will be available for the match with the Ramblers.
After the tournament, Kentucky will return home to face rival Louisville on Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. UK will wrap up non-conference play with Kennesaw State the next day at 7 p.m.
Scouting the Opponent – Marquette
Marquette has played all six matches on the road this season after a pair of tournaments in Hawaii and Indianapolis. MU has wins over Miami (Ohio) and IUPUI as well No. 20 Hawaii to start the season. Allie Barber, who averages 4.54 kills per set, won Big East Offensive Player of the Week for her performance at the Hawaii Tournament, while Martha Konovodoff won Big East Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week last week. She averages 4.46 digs per set and put up 27 in the Golden Eagle win over IUPUI. The Wildcats are 2-1 all-time against Marquette.
Scouting the Opponent – Loyola
Loyola (Chicago) is 1-5 to start the 2017 season with its lone win coming over Samford last Sunday in the Rambler Challenge. Gabi Maciagowski leads the team in kills per set and blocks per set at 3.22 and 0.94, respectively. Morgan Gresham earned a spot on the Rambler Challenge All-Tournament team for LU after racking up 47 kills in the three-match tournament. In the Rambler win, Gresham posted a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.
Chasing Records
Kaz Brown is climbing the 25-point rally scoring era record book in multiple categories. The Waterloo, Iowa, native is currently in second in solo blocks (49) and total blocks (457). Brown is now the block assist record holder in the 25-point rally scoring era with 408 and just one off the total block record. The senior is also sixth in kills at 768 and 10th in attack attempts at 1,628.
Emily Franklin is currently eighth in block solos with 29, seventh in blocks assists at 269 and sixth in total blocks at 298. Franklin also has the seventh-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .303.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is ninth all-time with 686 kills and 10th in attacks with 1,850. In total points, she is in ninth with 780.5.
Ashley Dusek is currently fourth in the rally scoring era with 1,169 digs and eighth in assists at 182.
Two on the Bluejay Invite All-Tournament Team
After going 2-1 in the Bluejay Invitational with wins over Northern Iowa and No. 18 Southern California, sophomore Leah Edmond and freshman Madison Lilley were named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament team. Edmond had two double-doubles in both wins of the tournament and averaged a team-high 4.60 kills per set and 2.40 digs per set. Lilley also posted two double-doubles over the weekend, and averaged 12.33 assists per set. Against UNI, Lilley posted an impressive 65 helpers.
65+ Assists
Sophomore Madison Lilley became just the third player in the 25-point rally scoring era to rack up 65 or more assists in a single match during the five-set thriller with Northern Iowa. Lilley posted 65 assists in just her fifth match of her career. She joins Kentucky setters Morgan Bergren and Elizabeth Koberstein, who each did it once.
Breakout Performance from Skinner
After a slow start in the Bluegrass Invitational, freshman Avery Skinner busted out in a big way in the Bluejay Invitational and the match at Kansas. Skinner posted an impressive 4.13 kills per frame, and hit double-digit kills in every match. She hit her career-high of 19 in the five-set thriller against Northern Iowa.
Three Ranked Teams in Four Days
Last weekend, for the first time in school history the Wildcats played three ranked teams in a four day span. UK earned one win, over No. 18 USC, 3-1 on Saturday. All four Kentucky opponents last weekend were ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25.
Career Leaders
Kaz Brown is currently third in the country among active players in career blocks. Her 457 total blocks are behind Faith Dooley of North Dakota (535) and Rhamat Alhassan of Florida (504). After just two seasons, Merideth Jewell is No. 75 in the nation in career leaders with 904 kills. Jewell played her first two seasons at Morehead State before transferring to Kentucky.
AVCA Ranking
The Wildcats are ranked after week two, sitting at No. 13. Under head coach Craig Skinner, the team has been ranked for 103 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 12-consecutive weeks. Skinner’s highest ranking was No. 7 in 2009.
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