UK volleyball extends winning streak with 3-0 Missouri sweep
Kentucky senior Caitlyn Cooper spikes the ball during the game against Louisville on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 3-0. Photo by Jordan Prather | Staff
November 20, 2019
The No. 14 ranked Kentucky volleyball team (21-6,14-2 SEC) notched another win to its record tonight against SEC foe Missouri, sweeping the Tigers 3-0 to stay atop the SEC standings.
The Cats remained in control for most of every set as Kentucky won 25-18 in the first two sets and 25-21 in the third.
In order to be able to control the game, Kentucky had to make sure they maintained focus after the monster win on the road against then No. 11 ranked Florida on Sunday.
“We gave the team a day to feel good about how we performed down there and then we had to turn our attention to the next match,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “A lot of credit goes to the team and the upperclassmen for keeping them locked in.”
A lot of the Cats’ success tonight, and really the whole season, came from the combined blocking by setter Madison Lilley and middle blocker Leah Meyer, who combined for 13 blocks on the night.
“We established a connection pretty early,” Meyer said. “Our timing seems to be working out pretty well so I can’t complain.”
“It’s a lot of practice,” Lilley said. “In practice we’re on boxes just working on timing together.”
Outside hitter and national player of the week Leah Edmond was also a big part of Kentucky getting the victory tonight as she totaled a team-high 18 kills. Her last of the match being was her 1,900th kill in her career. She gives a lot of the credit of her success to the coaches.
“They just have so much faith in us,” Edmond said. “Craig (Skinner) has helped me become a better hitter and player.”
Skinner made a bold move in the first set by using all three of his challenges, which all went in his favor and helped the team gain momentum, leading to a win in the set 25-18.
“We felt it was pretty clear that those were calls that should have been in our favor,” Skinner said. “You look at the score in the first set and if we don’t challenge those it is 22-21 and we would still have been playing.”
Wednesday night’s victory for Kentucky not only extended their winning streak to five games, but keeps them on track to take the SEC crown again. Next up for the Cats is a road game at LSU next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. on SEC Network.
