Kentucky Hosts Wisconsin in Battle of Last Two Defending Champs

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 14 Kentucky Volleyball team will play host to No. 6 Wisconsin on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET and Indiana State at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday as the third week of the NCAA Volleyball season rolls on in Lexington. The match-up Friday night will be a battle of the last two NCAA Volleyball national champions.

Friday night’s game will be televised on ESPNU with Eric Frede (pxp) and Holly McPeak (color) on the call from Memorial Coliseum with all other matches of the weekend broadcasted live on ESPN+ and SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.

Tickets for both matches are available by accessing UKathletics.com/tickets or by calling the UK Athletics Ticket Office at 859-257-1818. Fans are encouraged strongly to arrive early as ticket demand for the Kentucky vs. Wisconsin match has been very high and long entry lines could be possible. Gates will open to Memorial Coliseum one hour prior to first serve, at 5 p.m. ET.

Kentucky is coming off a 3-0 weekend at the 2022 Hilton Omaha Bluejay Invitational hosted by Creighton. The Wildcats defeated No. 25 Southern Cal and Northern Iowa via sweeps and took down the host No. 17 Bluejays, 3-1 on Saturday morning. UK is now 4-1 on the season with two top-25 wins under its belt.

Reagan Rutherford was named the Southeastern Conference’s player of the week and the offensive player of the week thanks to a 5.00 kills per set average and over two digs per set. Emma Grome led UK to a .418 hitting percentage on the weekend as a team and for that was awarded the SEC Setter of the Week. Sophomore libero Eleanor Beavin averaged over four digs per set and thus was named the SEC’S Defensive Player of the Week.

No. 6 Wisconsin won the 2021 NCAA championship with a 3-2 win over Nebraska in the final match. The 2022 version of the Badgers are 3-1 on the year with wins over TCU, Marquette and High Point. UW’s lone loss was a neutral-site setback to No. 16 Baylor, 3-2 on opening weekend in Ft. Worth.

UKVB is introducing a new gameday shuttle service that will run non-stop from Administration Ave., across from the Cornerstone Parking Garage (Parking Structure #5) to the Euclid Ave. entrance of Memorial Coliseum beginning at 4 p.m. ET and running through 9 p.m. ET for Friday night’s match. This will allow fans to more easily access Memorial Coliseum with parking options around the arena expected to run out earlier than usual due to ticket demand.

The shuttles will be free of cost to all fans and signage will be located throughout the area inside the Cornerstone Garage (Parking Structure #5) for pick-up and drop-off locations.

Time Change

Fans should be advised that the Kentucky vs. Wisconsin match has moved up an hour to a 6 p.m. ET start from its originally-scheduled time of 7 p.m. ET so that ESPNU can televise the match to a national audience.

Those fans who bought tickets prior to the time change last week do not need to do anything to their tickets, as they have automatically updated to be valid for entry into the 6 p.m. ET match.

Gate Entry

Doors to Memorial Coliseum for the Indiana State vs. Campbell match (3 p.m. ET, Friday) will open at 2 p.m. ET with free admission. Doors to Memorial Coliseum for the Kentucky vs. Wisconsin match (6 p.m. ET) will open at 5 p.m. ET with tickets required. For those fans wishing to attend both matches, the ticket holder of the seat for the UK vs. Wisconsin match will take precedent for that seating location.

Parking

Parking for Friday’s matches will be available beginning at Noon ET in the Joe Craft Center parking lots. Other parking options include the High St. lot, the UK Student Center parking lot and the Linden Walk parking area connected to the UK Alumni House. Fans however are highly encouraged to park in Parking Structure #5 and utilize the free shuttles to Memorial Coliseum.

Full Weekend Schedule – Memorial Coliseum

Friday, Sept. 9

3 p.m. ET – Campbell vs. Indiana State (ESPN+)

6 p.m. ET – #6 Wisconsin at #14 Kentucky (ESPNU)

Saturday, Sept. 10

2 p.m. ET – Campbell vs. #6 Wisconsin (ESPN+)

4 p.m. ET – Indiana State vs. #14 Kentucky (SEC Network+)

Follow along with the Wildcats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.