Kentucky’s star sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye shined again on Sunday as the No. 12 Kentucky volleyball took down Georgia in four sets.
DeLeye took home Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week, which might just be another step toward her winning Player of the Year in the conference.
With the win against Georgia, Kentucky now has a cushion, leading the SEC by a full game over No. 14 Texas and No.2 0 Florida, who are (10-3) in conference play.
DeLeye is tied for first in the league with 409 kills and is tied for second in the league for aces with 36.
In her game against Georgia, DeLeye dominated, having 30 kills. The 30 kills were not just DeLeye’s career high, but also marked a new Kentucky record for most kills in a four-set match during the rally-scoring era. The previous record was set by Leah Edmond when she had 26 kills against Missouri in 2018.
The 30 kills DeLeye had against the Bulldogs also tied with Edmond and Anni Thomasson for the most kills in a single game in the rally-scoring era.
DeLeye herself couldn’t have predicted the level of success she’d reach in just her second season in college.
“Not really (I didn’t expect it). I just knew that we did lose a big class last year, so we all kind of had to step it up this year,” DeLeye said. “I think everyone has really responded well. Going further in the season, we’ve really started to click as a whole. I think that’s contributed to it. I feel like Emma (Grome) has done a great job of distributing it and we’ve been working to get our connection going and I think it really showed in this game.”
She also paid tribute to the team as a whole for her great performance.
“Obviously, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates out there,” DeLeye said. I think it really was a team effort and it contributed to what I did.”
With DeLeye playing great volleyball, the Cats are set up to win their eighth consecutive SEC title.
DeLeye will try to continue her Player of the Year season when No. 12 Kentucky faces Arkansas on Sunday, Nov. 24, inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
