No. 11 Kentucky volleyball bounces back to beat Ohio in three sets
Craig Skinner’s squad was upset in the season opener on Friday, but his team bounced back in terrific fashion just two days later.
On Sunday afternoon in Memorial Coliseum, No. 11 Kentucky volleyball (1-1) swept the Ohio Bobcats (0-2) in three sets to earn its first win of the 2022 season. UK won the first set 25-20, the second set 25-11, and the third set 25-20. The Wildcats fell in the opener to unranked Marquette in five sets earlier this week.
Kentucky opened up the second match of the season in an early hole but didn’t take long to find a groove. Ohio built a quick 4-2 lead in the first set before the ‘Cats got comfortable. UK would take a 6-5 lead as both sides began to trade points. Kentucky held a slight 15-13 advantage at one point in the set before blowing it wide open, ultimately winning 25-20.
The second set was all about the ‘Cats. Kentucky established a 6-2 lead which immediately forced an Ohio timeout. UK would build that lead up to 12-4 and eventually cruised to a 25-11 set two victory.
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The third and final set opened up just like the first, with Ohio taking a 4-2 lead. But unlike the first set, Kentucky didn’t allow the Bobcats to stick around. The ‘Cats would take the lead for the first time in the third set at 7-6, ballooning that advantage to 15-10 before winning 25-20.
Juniors Reagan Rutherford and Elise Goetzinger both led Kentucky in kills with 11 apiece while sophomore setter Emma Grome recorded 32 assists and six digs. UK posted a hitting percentage of .370 compared to just .089 for Ohio.
Kentucky will take the next several days off before traveling to Omaha, Nebraska where they will play three games in two days. The ‘Cats will take on Northern Iowa at 6:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Sept. 2 and then play two games on Saturday, Sept. 3 against No. 18 Creighton at 11:30 a.m. EST and No. 24 Southern California at 6:00 p.m. EST.
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