Mississippi State
Kentucky
UK Tops State In Defensive Struggle
October 24, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Defense dominated play Friday night at the Newell-Grissom Building where No. 22 Kentucky (19-3, 10-1 SEC) flexed its muscle at the net and topped Mississippi State (6-15, 1-9 SEC) in straight sets. UK, winners of 16 of their last 17 matches this season, claimed its 18th straight series win with a 25-19, 25-23, 25-15 decision. The Wildcats held a slim 32-31 edge in kills, paced by a match-leading eight point-producing swings by Sarah Mendoza. But it was at the net where UK was most effective, tallying a 15-5 dominance in total team blocks. Becky Pavan registered three solo blocks and assisted on five other blocks. Pavan's second kill of the night broke a 15-15 tie in the opening set as UK out-pointed the Bulldogs 10-4 down the stretch in a 25-19 win. State took the early lead over Kentucky in set two, with Ioana Demian leading the Bulldogs with five kills. Demian, who registered a match-leading 10 digs on the night, set the ball to freshman Faith Steinwedell for a kill that put the Bulldogs ahead 14-11. But Stienwedell was forced to the sidelines by an injury, and UK quickly reeled off three points to tie the set. The two teams dueled the remainder of the set before UK pulled away from a 23-23 deadlock with a kill by Queen Nzenwa and a Bulldog attack error. State owned a 13-7 edge in kills in the set. The Bulldog offense struggled after the break, managing but six kills as Kentucky salted away the match with a 25-15 third set win. UK held the advantage at service with a 9-4 edge in aces, four by Lauren Rapp. Freshman Mandy Mellencamp totaled a team-best seven kills on a .385 hitting performance. Faith Steinwedell finished with six kills and hit .286 while sophomore middle blocker Ashley Newsome finished with six kills and a team-leading four blocks. The Bulldogs conclude their SEC weekend home schedule Sunday playing host to Tennessee (14-8, 7-4 SEC) in a 1:30 p.m. match at the Newell-Grissom Building. The Lady Vols knocked off Alabama 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) in Tuscaloosa Friday night.
? Official Statistics (PDF)
