Cats head westward for tournament

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It’s another weekend, and for the UK volleyball team, it’s another tournament.

After hosting a tournament two weekends ago and traveling to Indiana last weekend, the Cats (7-0) will hit the road again this weekend, this time for the Kansas State Tournament. They will play Kansas State on Friday evening, then face Purdue and Portland on Saturday.

Sophomore outside hitter Ann Armes and the Cats play in their third tournament of the season this weekend against Kansas State, Purdue and Portland. Photo by Britney McIntosh | Staff

“Playing these tournaments really prepares us for the next step after the (regular) season,” sophomore middle blocker Becky Pavan said. “So, for postseason, they’re really helpful.”

In the first tournament of the season, the Kentucky Classic, the Cats beat all three opponents handily, losing one set the entire tournament. The Indiana Adidas Classic was much the same, again only losing one set throughout the  tournament.

On Tuesday, however, the Cats didn’t have such an easy match. Having to rally from a two-set deficit to overcome a Cincinnati team that was co-champions of the Big East last year, the Cats said they learned what they’re capable of and now know they can win those games.

“It shows that it’s not over until it’s over,” senior libero BriAnne Sauer said. “Even if we are down in a match, we can always come up, and until that last point goes you have to work hard.”

By the end of the upcoming tournament on Saturday evening, the Cats will have played seven matches in the last eight days, including six on the road. UK is aided in the early season stretch of road contests by the number of players they have with experience. They said the road games will help at the end of the season.

“K-State has one of the best home court environments in the country,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “Playing another top-25 team in Purdue in a neutral position are all types of things that will prepare you as the season goes along and also getting into the NCAA Tournament.”

With all the games in such a short period of time, Skinner said the Cats will practice between 40 to 50 percent of the time they would normally do so as to not wear down the team.

And if you listen to some of the players, that could be a very smart idea. Sophomore outside hitter Ann Armes said the practices are sometimes more intense than the games they’ve played so far. With 11 letterwinners returning from a 26-6 team and a freshmen class rated as tops in the Southeastern Conference, the Cats have more depth than they’ve ever had under Skinner.

When you take that into account, the Cats aren’t surprised by their start — the best they’ve had since 1993.

“We have one of the best defensive teams – I’m convinced – in the conference, if not the country with Bri(Anne Sauer), (Laura) Stokowski and (Stephanie) Klefot,” Armes said. “The ball just does not drop. It really helps us stay focused; you have to keep going at every rally. It’s hard to score in practice.”