The No. 16 UK volleyball team posted a 2-1 record in the Carolina Classic this past weekend helping UK head coach Craig Skinner become the programs all-time winningest coach on Saturday.

The win marked Coach Skinners 210th, passing UK Hall of Fame coach Kathy DeBoer.

The Carolina Classic down in North Carolina proved to be a success for the Cats who had wins against Virginia Commonwealth University and Georgia Southern, but lost to No. 17 University of North Carolina.

On Friday night UK (8-2) fell to UNC in an exhilarating five set match in front of 2,109 fans in the Carmichael Arena.

Senior libero Jackie Napper matched a career high with 26 digs to lead the defensive effort and sophomore outside hitter Anni Thomasson notched 16 kills and nine digs.

Standout junior outside hitter Shelby Workman reached double figures for the six consecutive matches with 15 kills.

The first game for UK Saturday was a sweep against VCU with the Cats’ middle blockers being the difference makers.

Freshman middle blocker Emily Franklin had a career best 9 kills and .500 hitting percentage while junior middle blocker Sara Schwarzwalder chipped in with six kills and a team-best three blocks.

UK’s middle blockers helped the Cats open more options for junior setter Morgan Bergren, who had 36 assists, to set the ball to Thomasson who had 10 kills.

On Saturday afternoon, the Cats continued the winning streak with a sweep over Georgia Southern.

Four players reached double-figures in the attack column for UK as Bergren knocked out 42 assists and added 13 digs for a double-double effort. Workman charted 13 and senior Lauren O’Connor added 12. Thomasson was the lone Cat to reach double-figures in all three matches at the Carolina Classic and had 11 swings, while Schwarzwalder had season-high 10 hammers on .533 hitting.

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