Friday, September 20
Lexington, KY
8:00 p.m.
University of Louisville
at
Kentucky
No. 25 Louisville Set to Travel to No. 16 Kentucky and RV Cincinnati for Rivalry Week
September 18, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
The Battle of the Bluegrass is slated for 8 p.m. in Lexington, with a 1 p.m. match on Sunday with the Bearcats on tap.
The No. 25-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will close out its non-conference slate with its two longest rivals this weekend. The Cardinals will face No. 16 Kentucky in the Battle of the Bluegrass on Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. UofL will then head to Cincinnati for a matchup with the Bearcats on 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 at Fifth/Third Arena.Â
No. 25 Louisville
The University of Louisville volleyball team moved into the No. 25 slot in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.  UofL split its matches at the LUV Tournament at Lipscomb in Nashville last weekend. The Cardinals fell to 3-1 to Purdue before sweeping Xavier the next day. Redshirt freshman opposite Aiko Jones had 21 kills including a 9-0-13 for .692 hitting against Xavier and had seven blocks. Libero Alexis Hamilton had 31 digs and an ace in the matches against No. 23 Purdue and Xavier. The Cardinals trail 30-25 in the series with the Wildcats. Louisville enjoyed a 19-1 series run from 1994 to 2009 but have last the last six matchups. UofL leads the series with the Bearcats 40-17. Cincinnati was in Metro Conference, Conference USA, the Big East and the American Athletic Conference with the Cardinals, so the rivalry runs deep. Both UK and UC have Louisville area players on the roster to add to the rivalries.Â
No. 16 KentuckyÂ
The No. 16-ranked University of Kentucky women's volleyball team is off to a 6-3 start to their 2019 campaign The Cats are coming off a weekend where they went 2-1 with wins over Cleveland State and Florida Gulf Coast but suffered a 3-2 upset at the hands of unranked Indiana. Â Senior outside hitter Leah Edmond led the Wildcats with 19 kills against Florida Gulf Coast while junior setter Madison Lilley had 55 assists during the same match. UK Coach Craig Skinner is 8-3 against the Ville. A former Nebraska assistant like Dani Busboom Kelly, Skinner came to the Bluegrass for his first women's volleyball head coaching stint. The last meeting between these teams was on Sept. 14, 2018 where Kentucky defeated Louisville by a score of 3-0. UofL last downed the Cats in 2012 in a five-set brawl that marked All-American setter Katie George's first- ever match. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.Â
RV CincinnatiÂ
The University of Cincinnati women's volleyball team is off to a hot start to their 2019 season with a 6-3 record. Last weekend, the Bearcats went 2-1 with wins over Notre Dame and Ball State. Redshirt senior outside hitter Jordan Thompson earned AAC Player of the Week Honors. She had 18 kills on Friday in a four-set victory over Notre Dame and followed that with 27 kills and 12 digs against Ball State on Saturday. Thompson closed out the tournament with an impressive, 35 kills on a .354 attack percentage with 14 digs versus host NKU Saturday night. Thompson leads the conference this season with 5.29 kills per set while ranking sixth nationally in the same category. She ranks fifth in the country in points with 5.97 per set. In the win over Ball State, senior Armania Heckenmueller had a season-high 70 assists. Â The Bearcats are led by Lousiville native, Molly Alvey, who was a two-sport star at Centre College. The last meeting between these teams was on Sept. 17, 2015 where Louisville pulled out a 3-1. The match can be viewed here.Â
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No. 25 Louisville
The University of Louisville volleyball team moved into the No. 25 slot in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.  UofL split its matches at the LUV Tournament at Lipscomb in Nashville last weekend. The Cardinals fell to 3-1 to Purdue before sweeping Xavier the next day. Redshirt freshman opposite Aiko Jones had 21 kills including a 9-0-13 for .692 hitting against Xavier and had seven blocks. Libero Alexis Hamilton had 31 digs and an ace in the matches against No. 23 Purdue and Xavier. The Cardinals trail 30-25 in the series with the Wildcats. Louisville enjoyed a 19-1 series run from 1994 to 2009 but have last the last six matchups. UofL leads the series with the Bearcats 40-17. Cincinnati was in Metro Conference, Conference USA, the Big East and the American Athletic Conference with the Cardinals, so the rivalry runs deep. Both UK and UC have Louisville area players on the roster to add to the rivalries.Â
No. 16 KentuckyÂ
The No. 16-ranked University of Kentucky women's volleyball team is off to a 6-3 start to their 2019 campaign The Cats are coming off a weekend where they went 2-1 with wins over Cleveland State and Florida Gulf Coast but suffered a 3-2 upset at the hands of unranked Indiana. Â Senior outside hitter Leah Edmond led the Wildcats with 19 kills against Florida Gulf Coast while junior setter Madison Lilley had 55 assists during the same match. UK Coach Craig Skinner is 8-3 against the Ville. A former Nebraska assistant like Dani Busboom Kelly, Skinner came to the Bluegrass for his first women's volleyball head coaching stint. The last meeting between these teams was on Sept. 14, 2018 where Kentucky defeated Louisville by a score of 3-0. UofL last downed the Cats in 2012 in a five-set brawl that marked All-American setter Katie George's first- ever match. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.Â
RV CincinnatiÂ
The University of Cincinnati women's volleyball team is off to a hot start to their 2019 season with a 6-3 record. Last weekend, the Bearcats went 2-1 with wins over Notre Dame and Ball State. Redshirt senior outside hitter Jordan Thompson earned AAC Player of the Week Honors. She had 18 kills on Friday in a four-set victory over Notre Dame and followed that with 27 kills and 12 digs against Ball State on Saturday. Thompson closed out the tournament with an impressive, 35 kills on a .354 attack percentage with 14 digs versus host NKU Saturday night. Thompson leads the conference this season with 5.29 kills per set while ranking sixth nationally in the same category. She ranks fifth in the country in points with 5.97 per set. In the win over Ball State, senior Armania Heckenmueller had a season-high 70 assists. Â The Bearcats are led by Lousiville native, Molly Alvey, who was a two-sport star at Centre College. The last meeting between these teams was on Sept. 17, 2015 where Louisville pulled out a 3-1. The match can be viewed here.Â
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