Records Fall as Wildcats Roll to 3-0 Sweep on Senior Day
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Every special season needs a special performance along the way and during the home regular-season finale, the No. 6 Kentucky volleyball team did just that. A number of records fell as UK cruised to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 26-24) sweep of visiting Ole Miss on Senior Day inside Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
“My favorite thing about this group of seniors is that every day, they bought in,” head coach Craig Skinner said. “They were great teammates and they never stopped trying to get better. I think they’re going to leave a legacy for a lot of people behind them and set the bar high for doing new things and to continue to compete for a national championship. They’ve seen it, they’ve done it, they’ve been through ups and downs. They have led with their actions and their words. They’ve set a great example for a freshman class that’s big-time.”
Kentucky set 25-point rally-scoring era records in kills (58) and assists (47) for a three-set match behind a number of sensational performances.
“I was impressed with our team’s concentration today,” Skinner added. “Ole Miss has got some arms. Their pin hitters hit the ball hard. To hold them to 28 kills and us get 59 is a big day.”
UK improves to 24-3 on the year and 15-1 in Southeastern Conference action. Ole Miss falls to 16-14 overall and 7-10 against league foes. The Wildcats will conclude the regular season on the road this week. Kentucky takes on Arkansas on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and Georgia on Friday at 5 p.m.
Senior Kaz Brown led the way with a season and match-high 18 kills on a blistering .654 hitting percentage. She also added a team-high five blocks to her outstanding offensive performance. Brown’s 18 kills were the most since she set her career high of 20 kills on Aug. 28, 2015 vs. Michigan State during her sophomore season.
Sophomore Leah Edmond added a double-double effort with 17 kills and 10 digs. Edmond utilized a .405 attacking clip in the win and has topped double-figure kills in 22 matches this season and 50 in her career. Freshman Avery Skinner was the third Wildcat to reach double figures in the kills’ column with 10 hammers. Senior Emily Franklin had eight kills on a .389 clip, while classmate Darian Mack chipped in with three. Junior Brooke Morgan added one to the winning cause.
As a unit, Kentucky posted 19 or more kills in all three sets. Freshman setter Madison Lilley found seven different players for a kill as she notched 47 assists – which results in the most in a three-set match in the 25-point rally scoring era. Kentucky’s 58 kills topped the program record of 55 which was set twice, including against Loyola this season. Lilley also contributed six digs to the winning cause.
Senior Ashley Dusek, the SEC’s reigning, player of the week picked up a match-high 16 digs. Junior McKenzie Watson and freshman Gabby Curry both contributed seven.
SET RECAPS
Set One
Skinner opened the match with a slam to the back row. Ole Miss immediately fired back with a kill of its own. Brown and Franklin posted consecutive kills to lift UK to a multi-point advantage at 3-1. Franklin’s third kill of the early going gave the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. Skinner’s third kill of the frame pushed the home team’s lead to 10-4 and Ole Miss opted for a timeout. The Rebels eventually pulled back to within four, but Brown converted off a slide to end the threat and give UK a 14-9 advantage. The kill sparked a 4-0 spurt capped by an Edmond crafty kill for a 17-9 home team lead. Ole Miss burned its final timeout to halt the run. Kentucky’s lead swelled to nine at 21-12 after Mack tooled the block. Edmond finished it off for the Cats with a kill down the line for a 25-16 set win. Kentucky had 20 kills and utilized a .514 attacking clip.
Set Two
The second set began in the same fashion as the opening set with a Skinner kill. The teams would then trade points until a rejection from the duo of Brown and Edmond sparked a 2-0 run to lift the home team to a 4-2 edge. The lead quickly grew to 8-3 off another Franklin kill. Lilley served up an ace to push the lead to 10-4 and force Ole Miss to use an early timeout. Out of the break, Edmond continued the Kentucky run with another kill. Ole Miss trimmed the deficit to five, but Franklin’s sixth kill of the day gave the Cats a six-point lead at 12-6. Mack sparked a 2-0 run for the Wildcats with a slicing kill and then teaming up with Brown for a block to make the score 15-7 in favor of Kentucky. After an extended rally displaying quality play on both sides, Brown finished it off with a kill down the line to push UK’s lead to 10 at 19-9. It was the start of another run for the Wildcats who extended the lead to 23-9. An error by Ole Miss propelled the Wildcats to a 25-10 second set win to move in front by a 2-0 score. Kentucky had 19 kills on a sizzling .529 attacking percentage.
Set Three
Ole Miss opened the scoring to begin the third stanza with an ace before Skinner sliced a kill to immediately knot the score. After the teams swapped points, Ole Miss would benefit from a UK hitting error to take a 5-4 lead which did not last long with a rifling kill from Edmond. Back-to-back errors from the visitors enabled Kentucky to earn a 7-5 lead. Brown tooled the block to give UK a 12-9 advantage. A kill from Morgan had UK up 15-11 at the media timeout. Brown again converted off a slide to push the score to 19-15 in favor of the home team and Ole Miss opted for a timeout. A Lilley ace gave UK a 23-18 lead and Ole Miss chose to take its final timeout. The Rebels scored out of the timeout, but then committed a service error to give UK match point. Ole Miss staved off three match points to pull to within 24-22 and UK chose to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, Ole Miss was able to come up with back-to-back blocks to knot the score at 24 apiece. Kentucky took its final timeout. Franklin came up with a huge kill for the Cats to snap the run and once again give UK match point. Brown and Lilley then teamed up for a match-clinching block to make the score 26-24 and give Kentucky a 3-0 sweep.
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