No. 14 Kentucky volleyball (16-7, 9-2 SEC) continued its hot streak with a 3-0 sweep over LSU (13-10, 5-7 SEC). 

The win marked the Wildcats’ seventh-straight win, which has also included 20 consecutive set wins. 

The first set started off in a fierce back-and-forth between both teams, as a 3-0 run by the Wildcats gave them a 9-8 lead before LSU took the lead right back with a 3-0 run of its own immediately after. 

Kentucky responded with a 5-0 run that included three kills from Asia Thigpen, giving it a 17-14 lead and forcing an LSU timeout. 

LSU battled back, tying the game at 19-19 and then 20-20 after a successful challenge. 

The Cats pulled away and eventually won the first set 25-22 after a kill by Brooklyn DeLeye sealed the deal.

Kentucky would keep the pressure coming with another big 4-0 run to start the second set, with kills from both Brooke Bultema and DeLeye helping the Cats take a 5-2 lead.

A noteworthy Megan Wilson kill gave Kentucky a 15-12 lead at the media break as LSU tried to hang around.

A service ace by Eleanor Beavin extended the lead to 17-12 as Kentucky started a 3-0 scoring run that was extended after an LSU timeout.

Two kills by DeLeye, a service ace by Beavin and an attack error by LSU forced the Tigers into their second timeout. The Wildcats found themselves on a 7-0 run with no signs of stopping.

The dominant run finally ended for Kentucky at 8-0, but it wouldn’t matter as Kentucky won set two 25-15 after a kill by Thigpen closed it out and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The third set would sing a different tune as LSU came out firing, taking an early 5-3 lead.

Kentucky fought to tie the set at 9-9 after a solo block by DeLeye, and then a kill by Jordyn Dailey tied the set at 10-10. The Cats retook the lead after an LSU service error and an assisted block by Kennedy Washington and Wilson gave the Cats a 12-10 advantage.

Washington would continue to make big plays, as her second kill put the Cats up 15-13 and forced an LSU timeout.

A 4-0 Kentucky run saw kills from Dailey and Thigpen as well as a service ace by Emma Grome, forcing yet another LSU timeout with the Tigers trailing 20-15 late in the third set.

The set ended in anticlimactic fashion with LSU challenging an out of bounds call that it ultimately lost, giving Kentucky the set win 25-18 and the sweep. It had a hyper efficient .324 hitting percentage in the third and final set.

The freshmen have largely improved from the first game of the season against Nebraska, with one name in particular being Washington.

“Kennedy just gets better and better in practice, and she’s got a lot more consistent,” Head Coach Craig Skinner said. “She used to have elite practices and not so elite practices and then kind of back and forth. She’s coming to practice ready and wanting to be great.”

Washington had three kills and a .400 hitting percentage, helping the Cats close out the match in the third set. 

The Cats’ return to action on Sunday, Nov. 17, back at Historic Memorial Coliseum against the Georgia Bulldogs.