Errors lead Kentucky Volleyball to shutout loss against No. 7 Texas

On Sunday, Kentucky Volleyball had likely its most important SEC match of the season against No. 7 Texas at Memorial Coliseum. It had been a week since the ‘Cats played, and it clearly showed in this rematch of the 2020 National Championship.

Unfortunately, errors were the name of the game in Kentucky’s shutout loss (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) to the Longhorns. It was UK’s first shutout defeat of the season. The Wildcats’ streak of three straight wins was snapped and the team has still yet to beat a Top 10 opponent this season (0-6). Kentucky moves to 9-7 on the season with a 3-2 mark in SEC play.

No. 7 Texas defeats No. 13 Kentucky in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) at Memorial Coliseum.

The 'Cats are now 9-7 (3-2 SEC) and play Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday.

— Katie Hutchison (@KHutchisonKSR) October 13, 2024

Set one contained four ties and eight lead changes. It was looking like the ‘Cats might have a chance to finally pull off a statement victory. But despite Kentucky’s effort, the Longhorns’ offense quickly became too much for the ‘Cats to handle. Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye struggled to find productivity in the first two sets, leading to one of her worst offensive performances of the season. DeLeye marked 12 kills on 33 attempts. However, the talented sophomore was efficient in the back row, totaling three digs on the day.

Senior Megan Wilson was one of Kentucky’s offensive stars in the match. Wilson accrued six kills and three blocks for the ‘Cats. Just behind her was freshman Jordyn Dailey with four kills on a .125 clip and a block. Texas’ front-row defense created pressure on Kentucky, leading to 23 attacking errors. In contrast to their norm, the ‘Cats hit only 8.9% as a team with 32 kills on 101 attempts.

Libero Molly Tuozzo shined on defense, picking up 12 digs. Eleanor Beavin added five digs and a service ace while senior setter Emma Grome marked only 29 assists on the day. However, miscommunications led to unnecessary mistakes and pushed Texas over the edge to victory. With 23 errors as a team, Sunday’s match was not one of Kentucky’s prettiest.

Despite the loss, it still marked the sixth-largest volleyball crowd (4,834) in Kentucky Volleyball history. Grome applauded the fans for coming out to support.

“I think that’s awesome… it sucks that we weren’t able to pull out a win for them,” the senior said. “I think there’s still a lot of potential for this team and a lot of areas we can grow in. We’ve seen glimpses of it here and there of what we could be, but we haven’t been able to show that consistently.”

Up next, Kentucky begins a five-game visitor stretch starting in Knoxville as they take on unranked Tennessee this Wednesday. The ‘Cats return to Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 8 to take on Texas A&M at 7:00 p.m. EST.