University of Kentucky Volleyball Team Begins Second Half of SEC Slate on the Road
Wildcats have notched three straight victories in SEC action
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky volleyball team is set to return to the road for a pair of Southeastern Conference East showdowns at South Carolina and No. 1 Florida this weekend. Kentucky will first travel to Columbia, S.C., to face the Gamecocks for a 7 p.m. ET start.
Kentucky (11-9, 5-5 SEC) has earned three consecutive SEC victories capped off by a sweep of Mississippi State on Sunday. Seniors Blaire Hiler and Lauren Rapp charted 13 and 10 kills, respectively to lead the way. Junior Becky Pavan was unstoppable from the service line as UK scored 19 points total in the match with Pavan beginning play.
Freshman Whitney Billings led the Blue and White with 14 kills and added 12 digs in UK’s other victory last weekend against Alabama. It marked the first time in her career that the freshman from Helena, Ala., had notched a double-double effort in conference action. Sophomore setter Christine Hartmann matched the feat of her teammate with her first double-double in SEC action with 40 assists and 12 scoops.
South Carolina holds a 4-15 overall record and a 1-8 mark in SEC action. The Gamecocks are led by 3.43 kills from the hand of Juliette Thevenin to pace the team. Hannah Lawing has been superb from the back-row with an average of 5.03 digs per set. Kentucky won the previous meeting between the two squads by a 3-1 margin in the second match of conference action in 2010. With that win UK now owns a 25-17 overall mark against the Gamecocks.
The then 22nd-ranked Kentucky volleyball team's offense erupted to the tune of 58 kills on .328 hitting as four players reached double-figures in the kill column en route to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-10, 21-25, 25-20) victory over South Carolina in front of 1,167 fans at Memorial Coliseum. The victory over the Gamecocks marked the seventh straight in the series for the Blue and White.
Freshman setter Elizabeth Koberstein dished out a career-high 48 assists as four players tallied 10 or more kills during the match. Rapp led the way with 16. Billings totaled 12, with Ann Armes adding 11 and Hiler striking for 10.
Armes and Hiler each earned a double-double. Armes' 11 kills and 10 digs is the first double-double of her career, while Hiler picks up her second career double-double on the 10 kills and 10 scoops. Rapp paced the defensive effort at the net with a match-high five blocks.
Sophomore libero Stephanie Klefot picked up 21 scoops from the back row for her fifth career match with 20 or more digs. Junior Becky Pavan chipped in with six kills and a pair of blocks in the winning effort.
Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.
