[SLIDESHOW] Cats sweep Oregon, advance to Sweet 16

The UK volleyball team broke through a wall that was built in five years of frustration and futility with three sets of dominant defense and opportunistic offense.

The Cats, ranked No. 13 but not seeded in the NCAA tournament, swept 14-seeded Oregon 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) to move into the Sweet 16 of the tournament. UK had never advanced beyond the second round in any of the five seasons under UK head coach Craig Skinner. The victory is just the third time the Cats have ever reached the Sweet 16, and it’s their first since 1992.

“It’s a great feeling to be where we’re at,” senior setter Sarah Rumely said. “We didn’t accomplish one goal (winning the SEC championship), but it’s a whole new tournament time.”

UK’s defense showed up at an opportune time. The Cats tallied a season-high 17 blocks as defense shaded toward the middle of the court to shut down Oregon All-American Sonja Newcombe.

“Our blocking has been OK, but it really turned out tonight, and that is critical in the NCAA tournament,” Skinner said.  “We work on defense every single day and it was bound to come through.”

Oregon managed just a .143 hitting percentage and committed 26 errors.

“Our defense was late to bloom, but it started at the right time,” junior middle blocker Lauren Rapp said.

Rapp anchored the wall of hands that turned away the Oregon attack, totaling a career-high 10 blocks. The defense blocked three straight shots during the third and final set to propel UK to a three-point cushion they wouldn’t relinquish on the way to victory.

“Blocking shots are the biggest momentum booster,” Rapp said. “That string of three blocks was so much fun and gave off so much energy.”

Behind the sudden and drastic improvement of the defense, the offense simply needed to be solid rather than spectacular. The Cats ran an efficient offense that collected 42 kills to go along with a .280 hit percentage. Junior outside hitter Sarah Mendoza led the charge with 14 kills. Five other players had at least four kills in a balanced attack.

“We set up really well,” Skinner said. “We were assertive and aggressive.  We stayed very structured and disciplined in the game plan.”

Despite their disappointing end to the regular season, the Cats were all smiles all the way through Becky Pavan’s spike that sealed the win and sent the players into a huddled, dancing frenzy.

“The team deserves a lot of credit for how they responded,” Skinner said. “We don’t want to just participate [in the tournament].  It’s very difficult to get to the point where players believe you can get to regionals.”

UK now moves on to play third-seeded Florida State on Dec. 11 in Minneapolis.

“The Mall of America was a big enough motivation,” Skinner said.  “But this is a team that is never satisfied, and I don’t anticipate that changing anytime soon.”