The No. 14 University of Kentucky volleyball team will begin its 2010 season at the Runza/AVCA Showcase against two nationally ranked opponents this weekend.
The Wildcats will travel to Omaha, Nebraska and be greeted with a Saturday matchup against No. 2 Nebraska and a Sunday battle with No. 9 Iowa State.
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Both games this weekend will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.
UK will take on Nebraska at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The match on Aug. 29 against Iowa State is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
Here is an excerpt from [URL=”http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/082710aaa.html”]UKAthletics.com[/URL] about this season’s squad:
The Wildcats return six players who appeared in 30 or more matches from a 29-5 team a season ago. Coming off its first NCAA Regional appearance in nearly 20 years, the Wildcats have reloaded with some new faces and seasoned veterans and expect to make a school-record sixth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
[COLOR=black]Senior Lauren Rapp and junior Becky Pavan earned preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors and headline the returning starters. Senior Blaire Hiler had a breakout junior campaign and finished the season with three consecutive matches of 10 or more kills including a career-best 15-kill performance against Florida State in the Sweet 16 matchup. [/COLOR]
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Newcomers Whitney Billings, Alexandra Morgan, Jessi Greenberg and Elizabeth Koberstein figure to emerge as new stars in Coach Craig Skinner’s sixth season at the helm. Sophomore setter Christine Hartmann and sophomore libero Stephanie Klefot will step into spots vacated by All-America players Sarah Rumely and BriAnne Sauer, respectively. With several new faces team chemistry would seem to need polishing, however, the Wildcats enjoyed a two-week training and sight-seeing trip to Europe to help refine their skills.
Go Cats!!!
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