No.12 Kentucky volleyball (17-7, 15-1 SEC) defeated the Missouri Tigers (17-11, 9-8 SEC) in four sets by a score of 3-1 to increase its win streak to 14 straight games.
Freshman Brooklyn DeLeye was the star of the show with her 20 kills and .455 kill percentage that carried the Kentucky offense.
“I think when we started SEC play, something clicked to show that I needed to step it up for the team and I think I just took it personal to do that for us,” DeLeye said.
Junior Megan Wilson, Emma Grome, Eleanor Beavin, senior Elise Goetzinger, freshman Molly Tuozzo, fifth year Azhani Tealer and DeLeye started on the court for the Wildcats.
Senior Reagan Rutherford was out with an ankle injury that forced an early exit for her in the Wildcats’ victory over Texas A&M.
Kentucky wasted no time getting on the board as Grome set up DeLeye for the kill to begin the scoring.
An ace from Tuozzo gave the Wildcats a quick 2-0 lead. Another kill from DeLeye on an assist from Tuozzo continued the Wildcats’ fast start.
Three consecutive errors by the Tigers extended the Wildcats lead to 6-0.
Mizzouri would finally get on the board, but this was quickly erased by another kill from DeLeye to give the Wildcats a 7-1 lead.
A small 3-point run by the Tigers moved the score to 7-4 before the two teams traded points and the score now stood at 9-5 still in favor of the Wildcats.
This would spark a 4-point run for the Wildcats as they extended their lead to 12-5.
Both teams would split the next six points in the set before the Wildcats would take the next four points to bring the score to 19-8.
Kentucky would then take five of the next nine points to extend its lead to 24-12.
Now with the set up for grabs for the Wildcats, an assist from Grome and a kill by Goetzinger would extend the Wildcats’ lead to a set-winning 25-12 to give them a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Wildcats offense would continue to click in the second set as they got out to a 4-2 lead early in the set.
A 3-point run by Kentucky extended its lead to 13-8 midway through the set.
Points would continue to be traded among the teams, but the Wildcats continued to play keep away with the lead as the score now stood at 23-15.
Two assists from Grome and kills by Goetzinger and junior Erin Lamb would lead to a 2-point run that closed out the second set with a score of 25-15 and gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three would not be as smooth sailing for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats would get down 2-0 quickly, but were able to stick with the Tigers for a large part of the set as they were able to tie the set five times and even take a 9-8 lead at one point.
However, the Wildcats offense began to fall staggent while the Tigers offense heated up and they used two runs of three points and a 5-point run to take a 23-15 lead over the Wildcats.
Kentucky was able to put up three more points, but the Tigers were able to score the final two points they needed to take the set by a score of 25-18 to bring the match score to 2-1 Wildcats.
“Mizzouri gave us all we could handle at their place, they had won five of their last six matches, so that’s what we expected,” head coach Craig Skinner said.
Set four was a true back and forth battle between the two teams that saw nine ties in the first 24 points as the score stood at 12-12.
An error by the Tigers would be accompanied by kills from DeLeye and Lamb off of Grome assists to give the Wildcats a 15-12 lead.
The Wildcats would take three of the next five points to extend their lead to 18-14.
A two point swing by the Tigers would be erased by Kentucky’s offense as they went on a 3-point run to extend its lead to 21-16.
Mizzouri would take five of the next eight points to bring the score to 24-21 still in favor of the Wildcats.
The Wildcats would have a chance to take the set and the match off an assist from Grome that would result in DeLeye’s 20th kill and a Kentucky set and match victory.
“It’s an expectation to keep working and improve,” Skinner said.
The next time the Wildcats take the court will be vital for its SEC Championship hopes as they take on the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks. The match will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. EST at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
