No.21 UK Volleyball sweeps Mississippi State en route to sixth straight win
Defensive specialist Jackie Napper (15) digs a ball in the first half against Florida on Sunday, November 16, 2014 in Lexington, Ky. Florida defeated Kentucky 3-1. Photo by Hunter Mitchell
October 3, 2015
By Caitlin Schwartz
No. 21 UK Volleyball came out strong and swept Mississippi State to win their sixth consecutive game against the SEC opponent Friday night with a packed house cheering them on.
This is the third sweep in the last six games bringing them to a 10-5 record on the season while the Bulldogs are now 11-5 on their season.
UK was able to win the first set ,25-17, in thanks to its stellar defense. Not missing a step, last weeks Co-SEC Player of the Week sophomore Ashley Dusek had four digs while sophomore Darian Mack added four herself.
Offensively, sophomore Kaz Brown came out hot with six kills with Mack adding four as well. Brown and Mack worked together to turn the ball around at the net at the end of the second set to give the Cats a 2-0 lead in sets, winning 25-20.
After the set they announced seventeen alumni from the volleyball program including managers, players and coaches. Among the group was the first ever head volleyball coach at University of Kentucky, Delphine Nemeth. The alumnus present makes up for 63 percent of the Cats overall success in the volleyball program.
The Cats called a timeout at the beginning of the third set as they trailed 7-11; the Cats first trail of the game. After the timeout, the Cats rallied back taking five straight points to lead 13-12.
“They wanted us to break down,” sophomore middle blocker Emily Franklin says when discussing how the Bulldogs tied the match on multiple occasions in the last go around. “We kept on pushing and we moved passed it.”
Franklin took the third set into her own hands leading the team overall with six blocks, three of them coming within the last 10 points of the game.
“The inner animal in me,” Franklin jokes as she explains where her energy came from.
Not only did Franklin end the game with seven kills and six blocks, one out of her two digs came within the final play to set up teammate Anni Thomasson for the kill to send the Bulldogs home with a loss.
“It was definitely a reaction play,” Franklin said. “I’ve been playing left back all week in practice so I was ready.”
