Friday night in Omaha, Nebraska for the Bluejay Invitational, the No. 13 UK volleyball team lost their first match of the season, falling to No. 7 Creighton 3-0. 

Despite the sweep, the Cats were not easily defeated as they posted scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-20. Sophomore Lead Edmond offensively led the team with 18 kills, and she also added to that with 11 digs.

Kills were a high point for the Cats tonight, they kept the Bluejays within reach of score and the momentum of the match was right where Kentucky needed it to be. 

Freshman Avery Skinner posted 14 kills, Emily Franklin added six more and Kaz Brown posted four herself. 

“We gave ourselves chances at the end of the set two and we had a lot of kills,” head coach Craig Skinner said in a press release.

As a team, the Cats were resilient to the challenges that Creighton placed on them both offensively and defensively. Every set was filled with lead changes and high energy from both teams. 

“Impressive performance from Avery (Skinner) to come out of her shell and get a little more comfortable,” Skinner added.

Tonight also showed that the freshmen are molding well with returning players and finding their spot on the team. Along with Skinner, Madison Lilley also contributed high numbers to the Cats tonight.

In particular, Lilley was a team player tonight and contributed her 40 assists for the Cats.

Freshman Gabby Curry also posted her fourth double-digit dig total of the season, finishing the night with 14. This UK team is improving individually as players and collectively as a unit. 

The team is still early in their season and they are still working out the kinks with the defeat tonight, however the tournament is not over. 

After tonight’s loss, the Cats’ record drops to 3-1, but they are back at it Saturday morning, as they will face Northern Iowa at 11 a.m.

Later that evening to continue the Bluejay Invitational, UK will face Southern California at 7 p.m.