No. 2 Nebraska Downs No. 9 Kentucky in Four Inside KFC Yum! Center

Brookyln DeLeye totaled a match-high 19 kills and Erin Lamb added 14 but it wasn’t enough as No. 2 Nebraska downed No. 9 Kentucky in four sets (21-25, 25-22, 15-25, 20-25) inside the KFC Yum! Center Tuesday night in Louisville, Kentucky. 

The Cats started the match well and held a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout of the first set. But the lead didn’t last long, though, as the Cornhuskers rattled off a 14-6 run to surge ahead and take the first frame.

In the second set, the roles reversed as Nebraska raced out to a 9-3 lead and forced the Cats into an early timeout. But DeLeye and the rest of the Wildcats slowly chipped away at the lead, using an 11-5 run to tie the frame at 14-14 and put the pressure back on the Cornhuskers. The Cats went on to win the set 25-22 to tie the match 1-1 heading into the intermission. 

But out of the break, the Huskers pulled away, running away with the third 25-15 before winning the fourth 25-20. The story of those two sets proved to be Kentucky’s inability to play cleanly, as hitting errors plagued the Kentucky hitters. UK head coach Craig Skinner cited his team’s inconsistencies in decision-making as one of the biggest reasons for his teams struggles in sets three and four.

“I thought we let up a little bit and we did not assert ourselves with decision-making, committing to our decisions, and trusting the skills we’ve been executing and training on a daily basis.”

Offensively the Cats struggled against the defensive pressure of the Cornhuskers all night long, as Nebraska totaled 18.0 team blocks and limited the Kentucky attack to a hitting clip of just .139. 

Only two Wildcats eclipsed double figures on the evening, led by DeLeye and Lamb. Megan Wilson added seven kills of her own and Brooke Bultema and freshman Asia Thigpen each had four. 

Defensively, the Cats held tough against a program that’s perennially one of the best in the country on that side of the floor. Kentucky totaled 47 digs as a team, led by 23 out of senior libero Eleanor Beavin. Emma Grome added eight digs of her own and DeLeye finished with 6. 

Next up, the Cats will head back to Lexington for a home opener against Northern Kentucky to kick off the start of the Bluegrass Battle. The match will be the first inside the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum and the first time Kentucky will play in the arena since the 2022 season. First serve is set for 6:30 pm.