The Kentucky volleyball team, under the direction of a brand new coaching staff, will host two exhibition matches at Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, April 23. Coach Craig Skinner and assistants Robert Pulliza and Jenae Dowling will have the Wildcats ready to face OVC Champions Eastern Kentucky at 10 a.m. and Big Ten power Purdue at 4 p.m.
Kentucky returns eight letterwinners from the 2004 season, including rising seniors Danielle Wallace, an outside hitter, Amy Kaplan at middle blocker and Leigh Marcum at setter. Kentucky fans also will get their first look at redshirt freshman middle blocker Queen Nzenwa, who missed last season with an injury.
This marks Skinner’s coaching debut in Memorial Coliseum. The former Nebraska assistant head coach was picked to lead the Kentucky program in mid-December. He recently completed his first Wildcat recruiting class, which features outside Erin Turner from Winnetka, Calif., outside and middle Ashlee Fisher from West Bend, Wisc., setter Tess Edwards from Ottawa, Ontario, and defensive specialist Alisa Pierce, who hails from Louisville, Ky., and attends Pleasure Ridge Park High School.
Admission to Saturday’s matches is free. In addition to Kentucky’s two matches, EKU will face Purdue at 1 p.m.
2005 Kentucky Volleyball Returnees
No. Player Pos. Hgt. Cl. Exp. Hometown/High School 1 Melissa Popp OH 5-11 Jr. 2VL Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard 2 Kathleen Bowler DS/L 5-4 So. 1VL Naperville, Ill./Naperville North 3 Amy Kaplan MB 5-10 Sr. 3VL Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove 4 Leigh Marcum S 5-8 Sr. 3VL Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville 5 Julie Gagnon OH 5-9 Jr. 2VL Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South 7 Kristen Cunningham MB 6-0 So. 1VL Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson 8 Danielle Wallace OH 6-2 Sr. 3VL Port Charlotte, Fla./Out of Door 10 Jenni Casper DS/L 5-3 Jr. 2VL Louisville, Ky./Mercy 20 Queen Nzenwa MB 6-2 RS-Fr. HS Baltimore, Md./Kenwood
