Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and after the smoke cleared from the UK women’s volleyball entrance, the Cats provided the fire.

The Cats jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in the first set, with sophomore outside hitter, Sarah Mendoza, scoring the team’s first three points. Tennessee State wasn’t about to roll over in the first set, however, and rallied back with six straight points. After a series of back and forth scoring, the Cats found themselves with a 19-18 advantage. It turned out that all the Cats needed was a pick-me-up from head coach Craig Skinner. Following Skinner’s second timeout of the set, the Cats scored six of the game’s final seven points to win the first set 25-19.

Timeouts were not needed in the second set for UK, as they cruised to a 25-7 win. Sophomore middle blocker, Lauren Rapp lead the way in the second set with three kills on three attempts. Senior middle blocker, Queen Nzenwa, also established a presence in the game with three kills of her own on five attempts. The Cats finished the set with a .350 hitting percentage, and more importantly, a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set mirrored the first two, with UK establishing a comfortable lead in the set, and finishing it off in the end.  The Cats fought off the Tigers early in the third with timely digs and an aggressive offense.  After taking a decisive 16-8 lead in the third, the Cats surrendered two straight points before providing more fire to the game that never saw an extinguisher.  The Cats ended up winning the third set 25-17.  It was their ninth straight set victory of the season, carrying over from the University of Maryland Tournament.