Jordyn Dailey Plays Hero, Leads No. 2 Kentucky Past Oklahoma in Reverse Sweep

Heading into Friday night's match against Oklahoma, it was fair to say that it had been roughly two months since the No. 2 Kentucky volleyball team had been truly challenged in a match. Yes, they'd found themselves in some close four-setters and a five-setter against Florida at different times throughout Southeastern Conference play, but at no point in any of those matches did it ever feel like the Cats were actually in danger of losing the match. Enter the Oklahoma Sooners. 

Boasting an offensive and defensive scheme that resembles that of the men's game, the Sooners gave the Cats all they could handle Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum, taking the first two sets before Kentucky stormed back to pull off the reverse sweep and win the match in five (18-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-19, 15-12). 

Part of what makes Oklahoma so difficult to play against is their unique way of defending, as the Sooners actually send a triple block to the left side any time the other team is in an out-of-system situation. As a result, through the first two sets of play the Cats racked up a whopping 14 hitting errors to go along with only 25 kills as none of the Wildcats could seem to find the floor with any kind of consistency. 

But like she has all season, freshman setter Kassie O'Brien continued to compete and slowly found ways to set her hitters in positions to score against the scrappy Oklahoma defense. The freshman finished the match with an impressive 54 assists and directed the Kentucky attack to .255 hitting, a mark that was substantially higher than the numbers the Cats were hitting at through the first two frames. 

Offensively, Kentucky saw three players eclipse the double figure mark as they were once again paced by Eva Hudson. The senior totaled 19 kills on 52 swings in one of her final two regular season home matches inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Brooklyn DeLeye added 16 kills, and junior middle blocker Lizzie Carr finished with 11 on a .400 clip with only one error. 

The unsung hero of the match proved to once again be redshirt sophomore Jordyn Dailey, who came in off the bench to give the Cats eight huge kills on a sweltering .667 hitting percentage. Her offensive production behind the setter proved to be just enough to get the Oklahoma block off balance and allow DeLeye and Hudson the breathing room needed to score with more regularity to get the Cats back in the match. 

Defensively, Kentucky played a terrific all-around game on the back line as four players finished the night with at least nine digs. Molly Tuozzo and O'Brien led the charge with 13 digs a piece, Hudson and DeLeye each added nine, and Molly Berezowitz finished with five.

At the net, Kentucky totaled nine blocks with four coming off the hands of O'Brien. Kennedy Washington added three to go along with five kills, Carr had three, and Hudson and DeLeye each added a pair. In the final two sets of play, the defense held the Sooners to .188 and .059 hitting respectively, which proved to be a crucial part of the Cats' comeback. 

With the victory, Kentucky improves to 21-2 on the season and 14-0 in the SEC and clinches at least a share of the SEC Title for the ninth-consecutive season, a streak that began in 2017. Next up, Kentucky will return home for their final game of the regular season as they host Arkansas on Senior Day where they will honor Eva Hudson, the Cats' lone senior, prior to the match. If Kentucky defeats the Razorbacks, they will clinch the SEC Title outright as the only team to finish league play with a perfect record. First serve against Arkansas is set for 1:00 pm ET and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.