No. 15 Kentucky (10-7, 4-2 SEC) defeated Tennessee (9-7, 2-4 SEC) 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-21), as the Wildcats began their five-game road trip with a victory.
Freshman Asia Thigpen made her first collegiate start and played a crucial role in the Wildcats’ victory.
The Volunteers started hot, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but Kentucky responded with a 4-0 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Brooke Bultema. The Wildcats continued to grow their lead, forcing a Tennessee timeout at 12-8.
Tennessee came out of the timeout by winning six of the following nine rallies. A Brooklyn DeLeye error cut the Wildcats lead to one, which resulted in Kentucky taking its first timeout.
Kentucky held on to its lead following the timeout after a Thigpen kill extended the lead to 21-18. Tennessee called its second timeout of the set as they tried to stay alive.
The Wildcats pulled away and took the first set 25-21. DeLeye shined in the first set as she recorded eight kills at a .316 clip, and also recorded a service ace. Bultema and Thigpen both recorded four kills at an .800 clip.
Tennessee kept the first set close but had some sloppy play as they recorded five errors and had just a .186 hitting percentage as a team.
Like in the first set, Tennessee took another 4-1 lead. Kentucky regained the lead but immediately surrendered a 5-1 run, highlighted by consecutive service aces by Nina Cajic. This put the Wildcats behind 9-5 and led to their first timeout of the set.
Kentucky improved out of the timeout, but it wasn’t enough, as the Volunteers continued to grow their lead. Hayden Kubik recorded her fifth kill of the set to give Tennessee a 17-11 lead. Trying to hold on, Kentucky called its second timeout.
The timeout didn’t do what the Wildcats had hoped, as Tennessee continued its dominance of the second set and finished on 8-3 run to win the set 25-14, evening the match 1-1.
The Volunteers had a team hitting percentage of .444. Tennessee took advantage of five Wildcat turnovers. Kentucky only hit at a .037 clip in the second set, looking like a completely different team from the previous set.
The Wildcats came into the third set on fire and jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, forcing a Volunteer timeout following DeLeye’s fourth kill of the set.
The Wildcats held their lead until Cajic evened it up at 20-20 with a service ace. This prompted Kentucky to call a timeout as they tried to hold on to their lead. The Wildcats held off the Volunteers comeback effort to win set three 25-22 to take a 2-1 match lead.
Thigpen shined throughout the set with a hitting percentage of .833, but most importantly she recorded three late kills to secure the set for the Wildcats. Kentucky improved from the second set to hit at a .486 clip, and it only recorded two errors in set three.
The fourth set started off back-and-forth until the Wildcats went on a 5-0 run to take a two-point lead. Tennessee called their first timeout of the set to try and stop the Wildcats run.
Following the timeout, the duel continued with neither team leading by more than one point. A DeLeye kill gave Kentucky a 20-19 lead and resulted in Tennessee calling their second timeout of the set.
After the timeout, Kentucky went on a 5-2 run to secure the set and win the match 3-1. This run was dominated by DeLeye and Bultema, each recording two crucial kills.
A team effort allowed Kentucky to win, but three Wildcats stood out as DeLeye, Bultema and Thigpen all played excellently.
DeLeye recorded a game-high 23 kills as the centerpiece of the Wildcats offense. Bultema provided support with 14 kills at a .458 clip and also recorded a block. Thigpen recorded 15 kills with a hitting percentage of .583 with just one error, she recorded a block as well.
Kentucky will look to carry the momentum from this performance as it continues its road trip against Alabama, first serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20.
