After a three-game homestand, the Lady Bulldog volleyball team will test its resolve on the rough roads of the SEC once more.
Tonight the team will travel to the Bluegrass State for a match against SEC East foe Kentucky before a Sunday home match against Troy. The Kentucky match will be an important one for the Bulldogs, because it will be televised on SEC television regionally.
“We’re all really pumped about it,” freshman Jamie Joyner said of the televised contest.
Head coach Tina Seals hopes her team will be ready for the primetime road match-up tonight after the emotional win over rival Mississippi on Wednesday.
“(Wednesday) was a big game for us. Even though we downplayed the game, it was still important. I hope they are able to shift gears,” she said.
Many positives can be gained from a match on TV. The exposure for the program helps in recruiting–though you have to play well, said Seals. It will give the Lady Dawgs a chance to prove they are a valid volleyball team with a road victory. Junior Rachel Cooper said it’s big for all the player’s families, but not so much to the players.
“It’s a great thing for the program, and it gives our parents a chance to see us play since they are all out of state. But for us, that’s just not what we are focused on. We are more concerned with playing well and winning.”
Kentucky will enter the match with a 10-7 record, but only a 1-5 record in conference play. The Wildcats are dangerous for the Dawgs, however, as the young Bulldog squad will attempt to erase history and earn the school’s first win at Kentucky, their second overall victory in the series.
Cooper said that the team is ready for the challenge.
“We’re focused now,” Cooper said. “We just need to build off (the Mississippi) win, and remember what that (felt) like.”
Sunday’s Troy game will mark the eighth meeting between the two teams, with the Bulldogs taking five of the first seven. This is the first time the teams have faced off since 2001.