Mississippi State
Kentucky
No. 8 UKats Power Past Volleyball Bulldogs
October 16, 2009 | Volleyball
- Official Statistics
- Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - SEC-leading Kentucky (18-1, 8-0 SEC) lived up to its No. 8 national ranking Friday night, topping the Bulldogs (5-15, 1-8 SEC) in straight sets (25-17, 25-17, 25-16) at the Newell-Grissom Building.
SEC kills leader Sarah Mendoza totaled 14 kills, eight in the first set, and teammates Becky Pavan and Blair Hiller added 11 and 10 kills respectively to lead the Wildcats' efficient offensive attack. UK hit at a remarkable .404 clip with just eight attack errors.
The Bulldogs, led by Caitlin Rance's 10 kills, stayed close through the middle portion of the first two sets, trailing 15-13 in both stanza's, before Kentucky pulled away. It was Rance's third consecutive double-figure production in kills after 13 and 19-kill efforts at Ole Miss and Arkansas last weekend.
Faith Steinwedell and Ashley Newsome finished with six kills each while Steinwedell paced the Bulldogs on defense with 10 digs. Senior Ioana Demian had four kills and a team-best two blocks.
Kentucky, bidding to unseat 18-time defending SEC champ Florida, led State in kills (54-31), digs (62-47) and team blocks (7-2).
"Kentucky is so solid all the way around," said Bulldog head coach Jenny Hazelwood. "They are strong at the net, have an outstanding setter and a of variety players that can put the ball away. It was good to see us do a well at times and hang close with them for a while in those first two sets. We've just got to learn to play consistently at that high level."
The next opportunity comes Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when the Bulldogs play host to Tennessee (13-5, 6-2 SEC), a 3-1 winner Friday night at Alabama.
