No. 9 Kentucky Rebounds with Straight-Set Victory Over James Madison

After suffering a frustrating loss at the hands of No. 7 Penn State in a reverse sweep Friday night, No. 9 Kentucky bounced back in a big way Saturday, dispatching James Madison in straight sets (25-10, 25-20, 25-22 ) inside Memorial Coliseum. 

The Cats won this game on the defensive end, limiting JMU to a hitting clip of just .056 and forcing them into 17 hitting errors. James Madison failed to see a player hit double figures on the evening and only one hitter totaled more than three kills. 

Sophomore Molly Tuozzo got the start at the libero spot for the fourth-straight match and recorded a match-high 12 digs. Through eight sets of play thus far this weekend, Tuozzo has racked up an impressive 31 digs. Emma Grome had 10 digs of her own to notch another double-double, Brooklyn DeLeye totaled 7 digs, and Eleanor Beavin added 6.

After struggling Friday night to generate offense behind the setter, UK head coach Craig Skinner was pleased with his team’s response on Saturday and cited the importance for his team to continue to get reps in on that side of the floor.

“It’s a continual process- continual process with ball control, the set tempos between every player is a little bit different. It’s like a receiver and quarterback- how can you iron that out?”

Offensively, Grome directed the Kentucky attack to 42 kills on a .314 hitting clip. The senior dished out 33 assists as three Wildcats finished with nine or more kills. Erin Lamb led the way with 12 terminations, DeLeye had 10, and Megan Wilson finished with nine. 

With the win, Kentucky improves to 4-2 on the season. They’ll conclude the second week of play Sunday afternoon against Ball State inside Memorial. First serve against the Cardinals is set for 2:00 pm ET and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.