Kentucky VB storms back in Fayetteville; takes first game of weekend series

No. 19 Kentucky volleyball started the weekend on a positive note, beating Arkansas 3-1 down in Fayetteville. The Wildcats move to 9-5 (3-1) on the season with another game against Arkansas on Saturday.

After beating Missouri earlier in the week, Kentucky has now won four in a row in conference play. The ‘Cats have turned it around after dropping their first SEC game to LSU.

Early scare

Kentucky made the early mistake of letting the crowd in Fayetteville into the match. The Razorback faithful made their presence known early with Arkansas rocking a comfortable lead for most of the first set.

Jillian Gillen had seven kills early and Arkansas was up 21-13. The Hogs kept the lead and won the set 25-18 after Bella Bell’s attempted kill went wide.

But Kentucky looked like a completely different team after the first set as they flipped the score on Arkansas. Reagan Rutherford started to heat up as she always does, and the Razorbacks were on the ropes in the second set.

Yeah, Reebs!!

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— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 8, 2022

Rutherford finished the second set with 10 kills as Kentucky evened the match up at 1-1. UK was able to keep its foot on the gas in the third set as well.

Alongside Rutherford, Bella Bell made her presence felt in the third. A 6-0 run early in the third helped Kentucky a great deal as they led comfortably throughout the third set.

The ‘Cats were able to hold off Arkansas and win the third 25-21.

Good to be back

It’s always good to be in the win column, but even better when one of your familiar faces is back in the lineup. Azhani Tealer played for the first time since September 18 when the ‘Cats lost to a highly-ranked Nebraska team.

Tealer added nine kills on the night. The veteran’s leadership will prove to be pivotal for Kentucky down the stretch.

The fourth set was the closest one in the match but Kentucky was able to prevail. Rutherford continued to do her thing as she finished with a magnificent 26 kills. Emma Grome also added a key block with the Wildcats up 21-19 in the fourth.

Huuuuuuuuuuuge

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— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 8, 2022

The ‘Cats squeaked out a 25-23 fourth-set win to take down the Razorbacks 3-1 on the evening. Kentucky is back at it on Saturday, Oct. 8 in the weekend finale versus Arkansas.