No. 13 Volleyball Faces No. 10 Kentucky In Top-15 SEC Showdown
Saturday, November 21, 2009 | Volleyball
The No. 13 University of Florida volleyball team looks to rebound from a two-match losing streak on Sunday when it travels to Lexington, Ky., to take on No. 10 Kentucky in a top-15 Southeastern Conference showdown. Opening serve in Memorial Coliseum is slated for 2 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on SEC-TV/FS South with Dave Baker and Phil Bush and on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett.
The Gators (20-5, 14-4 SEC) are coming off a 3-1 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville on Friday night. Florida was led by sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.), who turned in a team-high 15 kills and sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.), who charted her NCAA Division I leading ninth triple-double of the season and the 15th of her career.
On the season, Florida ranks second in the SEC in hitting percentage (.283), kills per set (14.40) and assists per set (13.64).
Jaeckel leads the Gators and ranks eighth in the SEC in kills per set, averaging 3.28 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) follows with 3.09 put-downs per set, which ranks 10th in the league. Murphy also adds 3.09 kills per set and ranks fourth in the SEC with a .343 hitting percentage. She is the team's leader in assists per set with 6.35.
Senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) ranks fourth in the SEC with 4.41 digs per set and now has 2,022 total digs in her collegiate career. She currently ranks third all-time in SEC history and needs 15 more to tie former Kentucky standout Jenni Casper for second-place all-time in SEC history.
Sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.), who turned in seven blocks on Friday vs. Tennessee, ranks second in the SEC with 1.25 blocks per set.
Florida and Kentucky meet for the 50th time in the history of the two programs, marking the second-longest rivalry in UF annals as the Gators have met only Georgia (57 times) more times in program history. UF holds a 40-9 lead in the all-time series, including a 38-2 record under the direction of head coach Mary Wise. The Gators are 16-4 all-time when the match is contested in Lexington. The two teams split a pair of five-set victories last season with Florida winning in Lexington and Kentucky emerging victorious in Lexington's Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats then picked up a 3-2 win in Gainesville earlier this year.
Kentucky enters Sunday's match with a 27-2 overall record, marking its most victories in school history, including a 17-1 mark in SEC play. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 win against South Carolina on Friday night and have rattled off eight consecutive victories since a loss to Tennessee on Oct. 21. Kentucky leads the SEC in hitting percentage (.290), kills per set (14.79) and assists per set (13.64).
Junior outside hitter Sarah Mendoza leads the SEC in kills per set with 4.21, while junior right-side Lauren Rapp and sophomore middle blocker Becky Pavan follow with 2.45 and 2.25 kills per set, respectively. Senior setter Sarah Rumely is tops in the SEC in assists per set with 11.84 as part of the team's 5-1 offensive scheme. Senior libero BriAnne Sauer is the squad's top defensive player, ranking third in the SEC with 4.59 digs per set.
Complete results and a recap of Sunday's match will be available at www.GatorZone.com/volleyball.
For all of the latest information on Florida Volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow the Gators on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.
The University of Florida is home to the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regional. For ticket information, log on to www.GatorZone.com/tickets.
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