By Madison Tinder

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UK volleyball defeated Xavier 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 25-18)  for the Cats’ fourth consecutive victory.

No. 15 UK (10-2) had a strong defensive effort from senior libero Jackie Napper, who had a 24-dig effort while freshman middle blocker Emily Franklin added a career-high seven blocks and senior outside hitter Lauren O’Connor tallied five.

“Offensively, we did a better job as the night went on,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “But defense is a big part of winning this and holding a team like Xavier.”

On the front line, sophomore outside hitter Anni Thomasson added 14 kills with only three errors. O’Connor added 13 kills while junior setter Morgan Bergren had a career-high 11 kills and 37 assists for her fifth double-double of the season.

UK struggled to pull away in the first set after Xavier countered several volleys from the Cats. UK was behind until O’Connor landed back-to-back kills to tie it at 19. The game was back and forth until Xavier tipped the ball over to make it 25-24 for the Musketeers, who took the first set 26-24.

In the second set, UK started out with a 10-8 lead but Xavier battled back to tie the game. Bergren added two kills for the Cats and junior outside hitter Shelby Workman tallied back-to-back kills which led to a miss communication for Xavier and the Cats took advantage and the set 25-20.

The third set was another battle, but UK’s blocking effort changed the game. The Cats led most of the set until offensive errors starting adding up. The set was tied 22-22 until O’Connor and Franklin tallied two blocks. A Thomasson kill propelled UK to a 25-23 win.

Riding the momentum from the third set, solid play from UK continued as the Cats jumped to a 10-5 lead. Bergren led the charge that put the Cats ahead for good. Three blocks for UK closed out the set and the game at 25-18.

“It’s really the presence of our block at the net that makes a big difference,” Skinner said. “It’s not easy to lose the first set and then respond.”

As a team, the Cats hit .190, but limited Xavier to .120 attacking, including a .030 attacking percentage in the final frame. UK had 11 blocks compared to the Musketeers’ five, while each team had four service aces.

The win ended UK’s nonconference portion of the schedule. UK starts conference play at LSU at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.