DeLeye, Kentucky Use Balanced Attack to Sweep Aside Alabama

Five Wildcats totaled at least seven kills as No. 15 Kentucky downed Alabama in straight sets (25-22, 29-27, 25-15) Sunday afternoon down in Tuscaloosa. 

Following her performance on Wednesday night that saw her notch a match-high 23 kills against Tennessee, sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye eclipsed the twenty-kill mark yet again against the Crimson Tide as she found the floor with 21 terminations on a .234 hitting percentage. Sunday’s result marked the fifth time in seven Southeastern Conference games that DeLeye has totaled 20 or more kills. 

DeLeye wasn’t the only Wildcat involved in the offense however, as senior setter Emma Grome dished out 43 assists to help five teammates tally seven or more kills in the match. Asia Thigpen added nine kills, Jordyn Dailey finished with eight on a .636 clip, Brooke Bultema also had eight, and Megan Wilson recorded nine. 

The Cats hit .280 as a team en route to 54 total kills through just three sets of play. In the third set alone, Kentucky totaled 17 terminations on a sweltering .538 hitting percentage. 

Defensively, Bultema led the charge at the net as she finished with a career-high 6.0 rejections on the afternoon. Wilson added three of her own, and Grome, Thigpen, and DeLeye each had one. The Crimson Tide hit just .105 in the match and found the floor with only 27 kills as no player reached double figures. 

On the back line, sophomore Molly Tuozzo recorded 11 digs, marking the 15^th-straight match that she has totaled doble-digit digs. Grome picked up nine scoops of her own, Eleanor Beavin had seven, and Thigpen added six. 

With the win, Kentucky improves to 11-7 on the season and 5-2 in the SEC. Next up, they’ll travel to Oxford, Mississippi for a matchup with Ole Miss next Sunday, October 27, for the third match of a five-game road trip. First serve against the Rebels is set for 3:00 pm ET and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+