UK Volleyball Shines in Rupp Debut, Beats No. 24 WKU in Four

With Memorial Coliseum currently under renovation, the No. 10 Kentucky volleyball team made a strong debut on the court inside of Rupp Arena Thursday night, knocking off No. 24 Western Kentucky 3-1 in its lone exhibition match of the 2023 season.  

UK head coach Craig Skinner promised a fast offense and a slew of talent in his preseason press conference and both were on full display Thursday. The Cats totaled a whopping 62 team kills with just 14 errors, good for a .378 hitting clip. Four Wildcats reached double figures on the evening, led by junior outside hitter Erin Lamb. 

Lamb has spent a large portion of her career playing with a back injury but is as healthy now as she’s ever been, a large reason why she led all players with 12 kills and just three errors. 

“One of my main goals this offseason was to just be the most healthy as I can when the season rolls around,” Lamb said. “I think I worked really hard in the offseason to be able to do that. So never having to really sit out of drills in practice, always being in all the time, has helped a lot with constant reps. Not feeling like I have to hold back or limit anything, it’s huge.” 

Seniors Reagan Rutherford and Elise Goetzinger each added ten kills of their own, as well as freshman Wildcat Brooklyn DeLeye. DeLeye tallied her ten terminations through just two sets of play after being inserted into the lineup in the third. She hit a blistering .625 on the evening, the best hitting clip of the match. 

DeLeye was one of several freshmen to make an impact, something that Skinner and company expected heading into the match.  

“Exactly what we’ve been seeing in practice. They are ready. They’re ready to compete and get after it,” Skinner said. “They don’t fear a whole lot and I think that’s a big thing with freshmen. They’re just competitors and want to get out there and play. And they showed that tonight.”

But it wasn’t just the offense that found its groove against the Hilltoppers, as Kentucky held WKU to .195 hitting and limited them to just 40 total kills through four sets. The Cats totaled 7.0 blocks as a team and were led by freshman Brooke Bultema, who picked up 4.0 blocks through two sets of play. 

Sophomore Audrey Whitworth anchored the back line for the Wildcats, picking up a match-high 12 digs on the evening. Rutherford added 11 of her own, Eleanor Beavin had 8, and Riah Walker picked up 4. 

Kentucky will now turn its attention to the official start of the regular season, as they will travel to Ft. Collins, Colorado for a matchup against Colorado State on Friday, August 25. First serve against the Rams is set for 9:00 pm ET.