No. 14 Kentucky volleyball (13-7, 7-2 SEC) swept South Carolina (12-7, 3-4 SEC) 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22), continuing the dominance on its five-game road trip.
Emma Grome recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs to help lead the Wildcats to their third straight sweep. This was her 100th game with 30+ assists and her 25th double-double.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 8-5 lead with Brooklyn DeLeye getting four early kills, which sparked an 8-2 Wildcat run that forced South Carolina to take its first timeout of the set trailing 13-7.
The Cats maintained their lead following the timeout despite multiple errors by preventing the Gamecocks from going on any runs. South Carolina called its second timeout trailing 18-12.
Kentucky came out of the timeout on a 4-2 run that brought the score to 22-14. The Gamecocks responded by going on a 4-1 run of their own, but it wasn’t enough as two consecutive kills by Kentucky won set one 25-18.
Kentucky didn’t trail at any point in the first set as it recorded a hitting percentage of .290% and recorded five service aces. DeLeye led set one with seven kills and a service ace. Grome also stood out with 15 assists.
After trailing 1-3 to open set two, The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run headlined by a service ace by Molly Tuozzo. South Carolina responded with a 4-0 run of its own, with back-to-back kills from Riley Whitesides. Kentucky followed this up with another 4-0 run lead by Eleanor Beavin, who recorded a service ace and assisted on a DeLeye kill.
After an electrifying start, set two was tied at 11-11. This tie prompted Kentucky to go on a 4-0 run, with a service ace by Grome helping the Wildcats to a four-point lead entering a media timeout.
The Wildcats stayed hot following the timeout winning two consecutive rallies, putting them ahead 17-11. This extended the Wildcats run to 6-0, which forced the first timeout of the set for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks managed to cut the Wildcats lead to 20-15, but Kentucky responded with a 5-0 run to win set two 25-16 with a service ace by DeLeye.
South Carolina played poorly in set two hitting just .030% and recording seven errors. Kentucky recorded five service aces for the second consecutive set.
Kentucky began the third set with a 3-0 run that included a service ace by Grome. South Carolina went on a 5-0 run thanks to three consecutive Wildcat errors and back-to-back kills from Ellie Ruprich.
The Wildcats didn’t trail for long as back-to-back errors from South Carolina evened the set at 8-8. A service ace from Beavin capped off a 4-0 run that gave the Cats the lead.
The set stayed close following this, tying up four times and it continued that way with neither team taking a lead larger than one point as the score sat at 19-19.
Two consecutive errors by the Gamecocks gave Kentucky a two-point lead. This prompted South Carolina to take its first timeout of set three.
Following the timeout, South Carolina shrunk the Wildcats lead to 23-22. A kill by DeLeye forced match point at 24-22. The Wildcats won the set immediately after a Gamecocks timeout with a block from Brooke Bultema and Kennedy Washington.
Kentucky secured the sweep with the 25-22 set three victory. This was the Wildcats fourth straight win as they remain unbeaten on their road trip.
Kentucky played well on offense with 40 kills and a hitting percentage of .228% for the match.
While the offense was good, the defense excelled, holding the Gamecocks to a .128% hitting percentage. The Wildcats only allowed 29 kills, marking a season low for South Carolina.
Kentucky has now won five straight against South Carolina and 19 of the last 20 matches.
This win moved Kentucky into a three-way tie for first place in the SEC, matching Missouri and Texas with a 7-2 conference record.
Kentucky will round off its five-game road trip against Georgia on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air live on SEC Network +.
