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No. 15 Kentucky 3, Duquesne 0-FINAL
NCAA Volleyball Tournament
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The
University of Kentucky volleyball team began its run in the 2013 NCAA
Women’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday afternoon by sweeping the
Duquesne Dukes, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-17) to advance to the Lexington
Sub-Regional final.
This is the third-straight season that Kentucky has advanced in the NCAA Tournament to the second round.
Aided
by a 4-0 mid-set run that gave Kentucky a 24-19 lead, the Wildcats took
a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 opening-set win. The Wildcats and
Dukes exchanged leads through the opening 18 points of the match, as
neither side could get more than a two-point lead until DU took the
10-8 lead. Kentucky then went on a run that gave them a 24-19 lead and
five set points to win the set. Duquesne rallied to keep it close and
saved off four of the set points before a Whitney Billings kill ended
the set.
The Wildcats then extended their lead to 2-0 in
the match with a decisive 25-19 win in the second set. Kentucky raced
out to a 9-5 lead before catapulting its lead to 11-5 to start the set.
UK had six different players record a kill in the set, with senior
Whitney Billings leading the way with five. Kentucky closed out the set
winning the last three points, and clinched the 2-0 lead. Craig
Skinner’s squad is now 20-1 this season when winning the second set.
In
the third set, Kentucky again had a solid start out of the
intermission, collecting an 8-4 lead in the early going. Billings
continued her brilliant effort, collecting three consecutive kills to
aid the Wildcats’ 6-0 run and put cushion on a 20-12 lead in the set.
Kentucky then closed out the set in the third with a 25-17 third-set
win to cap off the match.
With the win, Kentucky advances
to the Lexington Sub-Regional final for a slot in the NCAA Sweet 16, as
the Wildcats will face off against the Michigan State Spartans on
Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum in Lexington,
Ky.
2013 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship
First Round – Lexington Sub-Regional
Memorial Coliseum – Lexington, Ky.
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2013
Kentucky vs. Duquesne
Post-match Notes
Final Score: Kentucky 3, Duquesne 0
Team Records and Notes:
·
Kentucky moves to 22-8 on the season and advances to the Lexington
Sub-Regional final against No. 20 Michigan State on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
ET.
· Duquesne finishes the season at 20-10 overall.
·
Kentucky is now 18-1 when winning the first set of the match, and 20-1
when winning the first two sets.
·
This is Kentucky’s third-straight season advancing to the second round
of the NCAA Tournament. In 2011 and 2012, UK advanced out of the
regional to the Sweet 16.
· This is Kentucky’s fourth-straight sweep when winning a match.
· Duquesne was appearing in its first NCAA Tournament in program history.
First Set:
·
It took 18 points in the opening set for a two-point lead to surface
from either side before Duquesne took the 10-8 lead.
· At the media timeout, Duquesne led Kentucky 15-14.
·
Kentucky went on a 4-0 run to take an 18-16, which forced Duquesne to
call its first timeout of the match.
·
The Dukes responded with a 3-0 run out of the timeout to close the
Kentucky lead to 20-19 and force the Wildcats to call a timeout.
· Duquesne saved off four set points, from down 24-19 to make it 24-23.
·
Kentucky won five of the last nine points to close the set and take the
1-0 lead, 25-23.
·
Whitney Billings, Alexandra Morgan and Anni Thomasson each had four
kills in the first set, with Billings also adding four assists.
· Morgan Bergen had 15 assists and Jackie Napper had a team-high five digs.
·
Madelynn Burnham collected a team-high five kills in 12 attacks, with
two digs.
Second Set:
·
Kentucky raced out to a 9-5 lead in the second set, capped off by a 4-0
run to force a DU timeout.
·
The Wildcats stretched their lead to 11-5 at one point and never looked
back in the set, as Duquesne did not get closer than three points the
rest of the way.
·
Duquesne called a timeout trailing 22-15 after the Wildcats went on a
4-0 run to stretch its lead to seven.
·
Kentucky closed out the set winning the final three points to win the
set, 25-17.
·
The Wildcats had six different players record a kill in the set, with
Whitney Billings (5) and Anni Thomasson (4) each recording more than
two.
· Jackie Napper led Kentucky with five digs.
·
Mary Henry led DU with three kills in the set, while also leading the
Dukes with four digs.
Third Set:
· Kentucky again got off to a strong start, leading 8-4.
·
A quick 5-0 run by the Wildcats forced a DU timeout with Kentucky
nursing a 19-12 lead.
·
Whitney Billings had three consecutive kills to give Kentucky its 17th,
18th, and 19th points.
·
UK had a match-high eight-point lead at 21-13, which they held onto to
take the match in the third set, 25-17.
Individual Notes:
·
Whitney Billings (UK) had 18 kills in the match, just two off of her
season high. The senior from Helena, Ala., also chipped in with eight
assists and a block.
· Anni Thomasson (UK) collected 12 kills and three blocks.
·
Morgan Bergren (UK) had 43 assists in match, leading all players in
that category.
· Jackie Napper (UK) tallied up a match-high 11 digs on Saturday.
·
Marah Farage (DU) led the Dukes with eight kills in the match. She also
added in one block and one dig to her scoreline.
· Mary Henry (DU) had a team-high 24 assists and six digs.
·
Allison Foschia (DU) and Patti Abshire (DU) each led Duquense with nine
digs in the match. The duo combined for 18 of the Dukes’ 35 digs.
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