No.12 Kentucky volleyball (19-7, 13-2 SEC) swept Arkansas (16-11, 6-9 SEC) 3-0 to secure its eighth consecutive regular season SEC Championship on senior day.
The last home match of the regular season began with a ceremony dedicated to the Cats’ six seniors: Megan Wilson, Delaney Hogan, Emma Grome, Eleanor Beavin, Erin Lamb and Lane Jenkins.
“We knew that Arkansas is a very good team, and we’re not going to forget what happened in the Sweet 16 last year,” Lamb said. “We definitely had that in the back of our minds, and also what was at stake today.”
When it comes to the match, Arkansas quickly took control offensively during the first set, leading Kentucky 3-0 before the Wildcats could get their first point of the set. Kentucky’s first kill of the match came from Jordyn Dailey, closing the lead by Arkansas to 4-3.
The Wildcats eventually tied the score 8-8 following a rally that was solidified by a blocks from Wilson and Dailey.
Following the equal share in score, Arkansas went on a three-point run to pull forward, but the Cats responded by going on a six-point run, giving them their first lead of the set with a score of 14-11 from a Wilson kill.
With a back-and-forth scoreline for the remainder of the first, Arkansas eventually fell 26-24 to Kentucky with an outside block from Brooke Bultema and Grome finishing the set.
Kentucky’s offense came out stronger in the second set, where it maintained the lead, or a tied score, well into the set. However, the lead swayed in favor of Arkansas when it took a 10-9 lead.
Arkansas went on to get one more point while within their lead before Kentucky took a 5-0 scoring run to go up on the Razorbacks 14-11.
The Cats maintained control throughout the second set, with a kill from Dailey earning Kentucky a 25-20 set two win.
The third set showed a Kentucky team without any doubt of maintaining control over the Razorbacks. The third set brought only one tie score and one lead change between the teams, compared to the first and second sets recording a total of 15 tie scores and five lead changes.
Although Arkansas took the first point in the final set of the evening, Kentucky fired back by reaching a score of 4-1 before Arkansas recorded another point; one that was at the hands of a service error directly after an ace from Beavin.
Brooklyn DeLeye proved her importance to Kentucky this season as she had a kill that gave Kentucky a 6-3 lead as the ball ended up in the balconies of the historical stadium.
The third set ensured that all seniors got to see action on their celebratory night when Jenkins entered the court late in the match.
The third set and match win for Kentucky came from a service error from Arkansas’ Ava Roth, which made the score 25-13.
The Cats’ defensive capabilities were solid throughout the match as Bultema alongside Dailey and Wilson were formidable in Memorial Coliseum, accumulating a combined 12 of the Wildcats’ 16 total blocks of the match.
DeLeye finished the night with a team leading 13 kills, closely followed behind by Wilson with 12
The win on the night added extra celebration to cap the seniors’ time with Kentucky volleyball.
“I would definitely not be in the shape that I am, and just the growth that I’ve made as a person, without the staff, without my teammates, without my family pushing me,” Lamb said. “Definitely just grateful.”
Kentucky will finish out the regular season on the road against Missouri on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. ET, where it will look to solidify a top spot in the NCAA Tournament.