No. 9 Kentucky volleyball defeated Northern Kentucky in its return to Historic Memorial Coliseum on Friday.
The match saw a well-rounded effort with four Cats recording five or more kills. Brooklyn DeLeye led the team with eight.
“Rupp (Arena) was obviously really cool to play in and we were very grateful to be able to play there,” Emma Grome said. “But the feeling at Memorial is just so different, especially with the crowd like tonight, so to have all those fans there and really feel that kind of environment again was super cool.”
The first set started off well for the Wildcats, but it wasn’t until DeLeye would hit two straight aces that the Cats would pull away. Kentucky would finish the set with a 5-0 run, winning the set 25-13.
The second set would be much of the same, with Northern Kentucky keeping things close at the start, but Kentucky still pulled ahead to lead 9-6.
It was at this point that Kentucky would erupt, going on a massive 17-3 run to end the set and continuing to relentlessly pour on kill after kill. The Cats would win the set 25-9 in beyond dominant fashion.
NKU would actually lead 4-3 at the beginning of the third set, but it would be short lived as the Wildcats would storm back on a 12-2 run, taking a 15-6 lead and continuing their dominance.
Kentucky would continue to coast with a well-rounded performance, winning the set 25-13 and recording a clean sweep in its first win of the season.
The Wildcats will return to Historic Memorial Coliseum tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. ET against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in game two of the Bluegrass Battle.
