The No. 24 UK volleyball season began in West Lafayette, Indiana Friday where the Cats competed in the Mortar Board Premier. The team played two games in the opening day and ended the day at 1-1 after falling to Washington State in game one and then bouncing back to beat Wyoming in the second.

Both the games saw dominant displays by the winning teams with the Washington State Cougars taking the first game 3-0 and then UK win by the same margin against the Wyoming Cowgirls.

The bright spot for the Cats in the loss to Washington State came from freshman Leah Edmond. The outside hitter led all players in the match with 12 kills in her collegiate debut.

Edmond stayed hot through UK’s next game, and played a big part in the easy victory over the Cowgirls with a team-high 11 kills.

Besides the offensive firepower by Edmond, the Cats’ defense also looked quite intimidating led by junior middle blocker Kaz Brown with three blocks.

UK will hope that it can replicate its performance from the second match as it closes out the tournament facing No. 20 Purdue at 6 p.m. in the marquee matchup of the weekend.