Oct. 21, 1999

LEXINGTON, Ky. - After getting back on the winning track last weekend, the University of Kentucky volleyball team will face its toughest test of the season on Friday night when the No. 4 ranked Lady Gators of Florida travel to Lexington to battle the Cats. UK will then get a break from the SEC slate when the team travels to Louisville on Sunday for a return engagement with the Redbirds. Last weekend Kentucky (11-8, 4-4 SEC) broke a two-match losing streak by beating Ole Miss and Mississippi State on their tour of Mississippi. Florida is coming off a pair of 3-0 sweeps against South Carolina and Georgia in Gainesville, Fla.

One of the strongest volleyball programs in the country, Florida (17-2, 8-0 SEC) features a talented team and an incredibly difficult schedule. Winners of the last eight SEC regular season titles, Florida began this year ranked No. 8 and has moved up four spots after winning 17 of its first 19 matches. Florida’s only losses this season have come at the hands of powerhouses, No. 3 Pacific and No. 13 Nebraska. Lady Gators have won the last two SEC Player of the Week honors and a total of three all season. 1998 SEC Player of the year Jenny Manz won the honor in week two and again last week. Heather Wright was the recipient of the award in week seven.

Florida holds a 17-9 edge in the all-time series with Kentucky and has defeated the Cats fifteen straight times since 1991. After winning the first three match-ups, UK has not beaten UF since Nov. 10, 1990. The Gators hold a 24-game win streak over the Cats since 1995, a streak spanning eight matches.

On Sept. 21, UK outlasted Louisville 3-2, in a grueling five game match at Memorial Coliseum to end UK’s ten match losing streak against U of L (9-9, 7-2 C-USA). The Cats had not beaten the Cardinals in volleyball since Sept. 4, 1993. When UK played Louisville earlier this year, the Cardinals were losers of five straight and playing without several key players. The Cards are healthy again and have won six straight heading into its Friday night match with Cincinnati.

In 22 seasons of UK Volleyball, the Wildcats and Cardinals have met a UK-record 39 times with UK holding a 26-13 advantage over U of L