By Kyle Arensdorf | Volleyball beat writer

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UK Basketball was not the UK team with a dominant performance on Friday night.

Led by freshman outside hitter Anni Thomasson, the UK volleyball team drubbed the University of South Carolina to the tune of a sweep (25-17, 25-15, 25-19) in Memorial Coliseum.

Thomasson, who was the only player to reach double-digit kills on the night (12), has garnered at least 12 kills in four of her last five matches.

Players such as sophomore middle blocker Kayla Tronick and freshman defensive specialist Kelsey Wolf received extended minutes off of the bench in lieu of the minutes of injured sophomore middle blocker Sara Schwarzwalder.

“One of the nice things about this group is that when they go in they know exactly where to be and know exactly where to line up,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “Sometimes that takes some time … but we were very organized and I think that speaks to our experience and training in the gym.

Schwarzwalder, who remained in street clothes on the bench, wore a boot on her right foot.

The Cats jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind three kills by Thomasson. UK dominated the opening set and took set-point with a kill by senior outside hitter Whitney Billings, 25-17. The set belonged to Thomasson as she registered five of her 12 kills in the first.

A pair of aces by sophomore setter Morgan Bergren vaulted the Cats to an 11-5 lead in the second set. Thomasson reached double-digit kills mid-way through the second set. Senior defensive specialist Jessi Greenberg saw her first action at the 22-12 mark to serve but was pulled after a lost point on service. Set-point was reached and seized after a kill and a block by Tronick.

UK continued the solid play into the third set, reaching 11-4 before a timeout was called by South Carolina head coach Scott Swanson. The Cats maintained a substantial lead throughout the set that grew to eight points when they gained match-point, 24-16. South Carolina put three more points on the board before Billings smashed her ninth kill to seal the match, 25-19.

UK will have a short break before they get set to take on Louisiana State University at 1 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.

“LSU is one of the most athletic teams in the league,” Skinner said. “They’ll hit the ball hard and put up a big block that we’ll have to navigate.”