STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Kentucky volleyball team looks to rebound from a five-game loss at Alabama when it faces Mississippi State on Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT in the Newell-Grissom Building. The match will be televised live by Fox Sports Net South with Bernie Guenther and Phil Bush calling the action.
The Wildcats (16-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) were led by senior middle blocker Nicole Britenriker’s (Cincinnati, Ohio) season-high 22 kills and 13 digs for her team-leading 13th double-double of the year against Alabama. Britenriker leads the team with 3.82 kills per game and is second on the squad with 1.20 blocks per game. Junior middle blocker Queen Nzenwa (Baltimore, Md.) ranks first in the SEC in hitting percentage (.412) and blocks per game (1.56).
“We are looking forward to playing Mississippi State again,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “They’re a hot team right now and we need to be prepared to win the serving and passing battle. It’s going to be an exciting match for fans to watch on Fox Sports.”
Kentucky and Mississippi State meet for the 35th time in school history with the Wildcats leading the all-time series 33-1. Kentucky has won 15 consecutive matches in the all-time series dating back to Sept. 22, 1995. The Cats hold an 11-1 advantage all-time when the match is played in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs are coming off a five-game win against Tennessee on Friday night to improve to 9-11 overall and 4-7 in league action. Mississippi State is the conference’s top serving team, averaging 2.0 aces per game. Junior outside hitter Cristina Jucan leads the team with 3.49 kills per game, while senior middle blocker Erin Seago is hitting a squad-best .291 and is second on the team with 0.70 blocks per game.
Kentucky is 2-0 this season in televised matches.
Complete results and a recap of Sunday’s match will be available at ukathletics.com.
