Eight-Seeded Kentucky Hits .500 en Route to Dominant Sweep of 23rd-Ranked Baylor

Win or lose, Friday night’s contest for the Kentucky volleyball team would be the final match for the Cats inside Rupp Arena. Lucky for Kentucky fans, the Wildcats decided to leave Rupp in celebration, as they hit a sweltering .500 as a team to sweep past 23^rd ranked Baylor to advance into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. 

Kentucky’s offense has been superb during the back half of the season. But Friday night, it was even better as Emma Grome dished out a whopping 45 assists and directed the team’s offense to a blistering .500 clip. 

Five Wildcats totaled at least five kills and three managed to eclipse double figures on the evening. Senior Reagan Rutherford led the Cats with 14 kills on a .632 clip, Brooklyn DeLeye had 13 on a .524 clip, and in her final home match as a Wildcat, senior Azhani Tealer finished with 11 kills on just 15 swings and no errors, good for a .733 clip. Elise Goetzinger added seven kills of her own and Erin Lamb had five. 

Following the match, UK head coach Craig Skinner was thrilled with his team’s offensive performance and harped on the seniors’ ability to lead the team to victory against a quality opponent. 

“Baylor is a great team. Credit them because we were certainly on high alert to prepare and play them tonight,” Skinner said. “Wanted to make sure that we took advantage of opportunities to score. Offensively, credit to Ben (Josephson) and Madison (Lilley) putting an offensive gameplan together. Fifty-one kills in three sets has got to be close to a record. Heck of a day and super proud of our upperclassmen and seniors especially for getting it done.” 

Eleanor Beavin anchored the back line defensively once again for the Cats as the junior picked up a match-high 13 digs. DeLeye added ten, Molly Tuozzo had four digs and a pair of aces, and Rutherford had three along with two aces of her own. 

With the victory, Kentucky improves to 21-7 on the season and extends their winning streak to a nation-best 18-straight victories. Kentucky’s next destination is yet to be determined as the remainder of the first round matches are played out through Saturday. If seeds hold, the likely destination will be in Lincoln, Nebraska as the Cornhuskers were named the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.

Regardless of where the Cats travel, however, the team is playing like they’ve got something to prove, a sentiment that Rutherford emphasized as Kentucky awaits their next opponent. 

“We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder, even if we’re the top-rated seed,” Rutherford said. “Anywhere we go we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder, like we have something to prove.”

Next up, the Cats will take on the winner of Arkansas/TCU, a match that will begin Saturday at 8:00 pm E.T. down in Fayetteville. Kentucky will play the winner of that match on Thursday, December 7^th. First serve and location will be announced at a later date once all 16 teams have advanced into the Sweet Sixteen. 

Following the match, Hunter Mitchell and Leah Edmond broke down the game and previewed the Cats’ next likely opponent live from Rupp Arena on Point Kentucky. Click the link below to recap an exciting night inside Rupp Arena.