Hudson's Offense, DeLeye's Defense Leads Kentucky Past Wisconsin in Five-Set Thriller

Volleyball is a complex sport. But like any level of athletic competition, the key to getting out of the gym with a win almost always falls on winning more statistical categories in the final box score than your opponent. But if we've learned anything about the Kentucky Wildcats this season, it's that they like to find new ways to defy the odds.

That season-long theme made an appearance yet again Thursday night, as the Cats rallied from a 1-2 match deficit to down (3) Wisconsin in a five-set thriller (12-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13) in front of a sell-out crowd 18,332 strong to advance into the national championship Sunday. 

Kentucky had to play from behind in this one all night, clearly evident in a final box score that saw the Cats trailing in nearly every statistical category. The Badgers finished the game with 12 more kills than Kentucky, 14 more digs, two more blocks, and hit at a .375 clip compared to just .254 for Kentucky. Following the match, UK head coach Craig Skinner was thrilled with the determination his team showed to find a way to win in spite of trailing in the box score.

"I'm trying to find stats that we actually led in this match. I finally got to blocks. Well no... we were close," Skinner joked. "But I think the cool thing about this team, I thought we'd done it all and I thought we found every possible way to win, and tonight was a different way. I think the way they played, the heart that they show is immeasurable. I keep telling them they're transformational leaders in the way they go about it, what they've done for the sport, especially in Kentucky, but not only there, around the country. Proud of them."

But the match didn't begin with much joy as the Badgers took the court and raced out to a 10-3 lead early in set one behind a blistering offensive start from seniors Carter Booth and Mimi Colyer, who each totaled seven kills in the frame and hit at or above a .875 clip. Wisconsin sided out at an astounding 100% in the first frame and the Cats didn't even record a dig until midway through the set as the Badgers ignited with one of the most efficient offenses in the country. 

Kentucky was on the mat and reeling early. But they weren't going down without a fight.

The Cats flushed the first set beat-down and responded early in the second, taking a 7-4 lead behind some offensive life at the net. After Wisconsin tied things up at 9-9, though, the two teams traded points until the Badgers squeaked ahead by two at 16-14 thanks to a stuff block of sophomore Asia Thigpen. But yet again, Kentucky and company refused to lose. Despite trailing 18-20 and at risk of falling behind 0-2 in the match, the Cats rattled off an impressive 7-2 run on the back of senior Eva Hudson to take the frame 25-22 and tie the match heading into intermission. Hudson found the floor with four kills in that seven point burst, a stretch that proved to be one of the only times all night that the Cats managed to string points together. 

Wisconsin's offense wasn't slowing down though, clearly evident in a third set that the Badgers won thanks to 21 team kills on a blistering .386 hitting clip. National Player of the Year finalist Mimi Colyer totaled 12 kills in the third set to lead the Badgers to a set victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match and put the Cats on the brink of elimination. 

But facing the possibility of her final collegiate season coming to an end, Hudson ignited again, finding the floor with nine kills on a .615 clip in the fourth to lead the Kentucky comeback. The Cats took a lead late when her ninth kill found the floor to give them a 24-21 lead, but Wisconsin responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set and force a deuce. Despite not having a defensive answer all night, Kentucky came up with one from that point on, recording two-straight stuff blocks at the net to halt the Wisconsin run and force a fifth set. 

Once they got to the fifth, the Cats allowed the momentum they'd build in the fourth to carry them forward as they raced out to a 6-1 lead thanks to some stellar serving from true freshman Trinity Ward. Following the match, Skinner expressed a tremendous amount of pride for the service run Ward put together to get the Cats the lead and cited her preparation as a key reason for her success.

"To have the guts to go back there like Trinity (Ward) did at the beginning of that fifth set and serve not just balls in the court, but tough serves to impact the match, takes an incredible amount of confidence. But she's prepared herself for this moment. That pressure is nothing compared to life pressure. She has overcome a lot to get herself in that moment. She showed how tough she was."

Kentucky extended their lead to 9-3 before the Badgers threw one final punch with a 10-5 run to fight off two match points and force a Kentucky timeout. Coming out of the break, though, the Cats went to their star as Kassie O'Brien dished the ball to Hudson on the left who tooled the ball off a fully-formed block out of bounds to give Kentucky the set 15-13 and the match 3-2. 

Hudson led the offensive attack for the Cats all night, recording 29 kills with only four errors on an astounding .455 clip. Brooklyn DeLeye added 15 kills of her own, Lizzie Carr and Asia Thigpen each had eight, and Kennedy Washington totaled three. 

Despite having to run around the floor all match to try and keep the Cats' offense in system, O'Brien had another stellar night directing the offense as she finished with 54 assists coming off the heels of being named the National Freshman of the Year. After hitting only .056 as a team in the first, O'Brien's work leading the offense saw the Cats hit at or above a .258 clip in every set forward, with the highest efficiency number of .409 coming in the decisive fifth set.

Kentucky didn't have many answers defensively for a Wisconsin attack that proved nearly impossible to get uncomfortable from behind the service line. But the Cats came up with critical stops in key moments of the match, most notably coming off the arms of Brooklyn DeLeye, who picked up three massive digs in the fifth set to extend rallies and help Kentucky take an early lead. Junior libero Molly Tuozzo led all players with 17 digs, DeLeye had 14, O'Brien had nine, and Hudson finished with seven. 

At the net, the Cats were led by DeLeye, who finished with five blocks to punctuate a phenomenal defensive performance. Washington added three of her own, and Hudson, Carr, and O'Brien each added a pair.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 30-2 on the season and extends its winning streak to 27-straight victories. Next up, the Cats get one more match in the 2025 season as they advance into the National Championship game against fellow SEC foe Texas A&M with a chance to take home the trophy. First serve is set for 3:30 pm ET on Sunday and will be broadcast live on ABC.