UK Volleyball looks to get back to winning ways against Alabama
October 22, 2015
The No. 21 UK hope to bounce back after their first Southeastern Conference loss against the No. 15 Florida Gators. The Cats are now 6-1 on SEC play, 13-6 on the season. The team travels this Friday to battle the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The match marks the second time the teams will compete this season, as UK beat Alabama in four sets on Oct. 4. The Cats also beat Alabama in the 2014-15 season when UK took three of the four sets for the win.
Alabama is 9-11 on their season, 3-3 in SEC play, after breaking out with two of its top offensive performances of the season to win sets four and five against LSU. The 27-7 run closed out the five-set victory on the road Sunday afternoon.
The Cats’ defense will have to be on the lookout for Alabama’s Kat Hutson and Krystal Rivers who knocked down 21 kills in the team’s last game against LSU, as the pair hit .487 and .349, respectively. Hudson and Rivers are one of the top offensive duos in the conference with both ranking inside the top ten in kills and points.
This should be no problem for UK sophomore Ashley Dusek after recently earning Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week honors. Dusek put on an astounding, record-breaking performance on Oct. 16 setting an all-time record for digs in a single match with 40 against the Auburn Tigers.
She is one of only six players to record 40 or more digs in a single match this season in NCAA Division I and the only one from a major conference to do so. Dusek leads UK in total digs with 356, 140 of those coming in SEC action.
Also look for sophomore Kaz Brown to be a factor on defense. The middle blocker is second in the conference in blocks and her steady performance all season has been a revelation for the Cats defense.
Alabama won’t have it easy on defense either. Three UK players had double digit kills against Florida, including Anni Thomasson, Emily Franklin, and Darian Mack. Thomasson alone has been firing on all cylinders as of late. She is averaging over 13 points per game and has been the Cats leading scorer over the teams last three contests.
Despite Florida snapping the Cats’ nine-game winning streak, UK has a chance to redeem itself against Alabama on Friday, Oct. 23. The game starts at 8 p.m.
