Kentucky Volleyball in NCAA Power 10 for second week in a row
Craig Skinner’s Kentucky squad made Michella Chester’s NCAA Power 10 rankings for the second week in a row, checking in at No. 9. The 5-2 Wildcats consistently bring the heat to their opponents. However, both losses are to other top-10 teams: No. 5 Nebraska and No. 3 Penn State.
On Friday, the Nittany Lions reverse-swept Kentucky in a thrilling 3-2 match. While Kentucky looked strong on offense, the defensive errors were what kept them from coming out on top in the 26-24 third set. After that, it was all gas, no brakes for Penn State. The Lions dominated at Memorial Coliseum and went home with the win (25-19, 25-23, 24-26, 22-25, 8-15).
Sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye led her team in kills (20), with Erin Lamb (14) and Megan Wilson (10) not far behind. However, the Wildcats’ 56 total kills couldn’t overcome Penn State’s 62. At the time, the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 7, but after the dominating victory over Kentucky, Penn State is now No. 3 in the country.
“The match could’ve gone either way,” Chester said. “They were outplayed defensively, but the Wildcats stay in [the top 10] for now.”
Despite the heartbreaking loss on Friday, UK closed out the Kentucky Invitational with victories over James Madison (3-0) and Ball State (3-0). Against Ball State, senior setter Emma Grome finished with 37 assists, including an impressive one-handed set to Brooke Bultema for the kill.
With a 2-1 weekend, Kentucky earned a No. 9 spot on Chester’s list and a No. 10 spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll for Week 2.
Now, the ‘Cats have to prove they’re worthy of a top 10 spot this week. This weekend, Kentucky travels to Dallas, Texas for a two-game series. First, the ‘Cats play SMU on Friday, and either No. 7 Purdue or Houston on Saturday. Then on Wednesday, Sept. 18, the ‘Cats come back to Lexington to take on long-time foe No. 4 Louisville. Kentucky is surely hoping to secure its first top-10 victory of the season in the coming week-plus.
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