No. 14 Kentucky volleyball (12-7, 6-2 SEC) swept Ole Miss (13-7, 3-5 SEC) 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-13) to remain unbeaten on its road trip.
An all-around team effort allowed the Wildcats to win their third straight match, second straight by sweep.
Kentucky set the tone early, starting the match with three consecutive kills. A series of Kentucky errors allowed the Rebels to even the first set at 5-5. The teams continued to go back and forth, resulting in a tie at 11-11.
The Wildcats regained the lead with a kill from Brooklyn DeLeye, sparking a 4-0 run featuring a service ace by Molly Tuozzo. DeLeye recorded her sixth kill of the set to give Kentucky a four-point lead heading into a media timeout.
Ole Miss won two straight rallies after the media timeout, but the Wildcats responded with a 3-0 run of their own. Kentucky pulled out to a five-point lead, forcing Ole Miss to take its first timeout of the set.
The Wildcats came out of the timeout winning three of four rallies, taking a 21-14 lead. Facing a seven-point deficit, Ole Miss opted to take its second timeout of the set.
Both teams struggled following the timeout leading to seven straight rallies ending in an error. The Wildcats held onto their lead through sloppy play, forcing set point at 24-17. Kentucky secured set one 25-18 with a kill from Megan Wilson.
DeLeye stood out in set one, recording six blocks along with a .500% hitting percentage. Despite five errors, Kentucky hit .290% as a team in set one. The Rebels only managed six kills in set one, hitting just .136% as a team.
The Wildcats started hot once again, jumping out to an 8-3 lead, which forced the Rebels to take an early timeout. Kentucky continued its dominance following the timeout, stretching its lead to 16-8.
The Rebels came alive now down eight points, going on a 5-1 run that cut the lead to three, forcing the Wildcats first timeout of the set. Kentucky recorded four errors in five rallies following the timeout, allowing the Rebels to complete their comeback with a 21-21 tie.
Wilson recorded two straight kills to force set point at 24-22, resulting in Ole Miss calling its second timeout of the set. Kentucky came out of the timeout with two consecutive errors, evening the set at 24-24. Kentucky took its second timeout of the set in an attempt to regroup. The Wildcats did just that as they recorded two consecutive kills to win the second set 26-24.
Wilson was excellent in set two, hitting .500% with five kills and a block. Wilson played a crucial role in the Wildcats holding onto their lead, recording three kills following the 22-22 tie.
Kentucky had a poor set as a team, hitting just .200% and recording 9 errors. The Wildcats struggled but Ole Miss was worse. The Rebels hit just .080%, but their defense kept it close with six total blocks.
The Wildcats continued to start sets strong as they went on a 4-0 run to open set three. This four-point lead only grew as the set continued. A Kentucky 7-2 run brought its lead to 13-5, which forced Ole Miss to take its first timeout of the set.
The Wildcats came out of the timeout with a 9-2 run, increasing their lead to 22-7. Ole Miss started to show signs of life with a 5-1 run, but it wasn’t nearly enough as Kentucky took set three 25-13 to complete the sweep.
Kentucky was dominant in the third set hitting .345% as a team, only recording 2 errors. The Wildcats’ defense overpowered Ole Miss, as it had a negative hitting percentage with -.062% and 9 errors.
DeLeye lead the Wildcats offense with 17 kills in the match. Wilson also had a great match recording nine kills and hitting .444%. Tuozzo recorded 11 digs, extending her streak of matches with 10+ digs to 15.
Freshman Asia Thigpen continues to be an excellent contributor in her third career start recording nine kills, six digs and a service ace.
This victory extended Kentucky’s winning streak against Ole Miss to 21 straight. The Wildcats now lead the all-time series 53-11.
Kentucky will look to carry the momentum of three straight wins into its next match on Friday, Nov. 1, at South Carolina with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The match will air live on SEC Network+.