No. 3 Kentucky Sweeps Aside South Carolina for First Win of League Play

Thanks to a stellar all-around game from junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, the No. 3 Kentucky volleyball team picked up its first win of league play Wednesday night with a 3-0 sweep of South Carolina (25-17, 29-27, 25-18) inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. 

After struggling in the Cats' final non conference match Saturday against Washington, DeLeye found her groove again quickly against the Gamecocks, finding the floor with a team-high 14 kills on a sweltering .522 hitting clip. The junior also added a match-high 16 digs and a block to help lead the Kentucky defense. 

Following her historic performance Saturday, Eva Hudson continued to be a steadying presence for the blue and white as she added 13 kills, eight digs, a pair of blocks and a service ace to the winning effort as well. In a marathon second set that saw the Cats trail by as many as eight points, Hudson totaled eight of her 13 kills to help the Cats overcome their deficit to take the second frame. 

In her first career start of league play, true freshman Kassie O'Brien dished out a match-high 40 assists and directed the Kentucky offense to 44 total kills on a .340 hitting percentage. Five Wildcats totaled five or more kills with Lizzie Carr (7), Jordyn Dailey (5) and Brooke Bultema (5) stuffing the stat sheet alongside DeLeye and Hudson. 

On the back line, Molly Tuozzo continued to anchor the Kentucky defense with 12 more digs. O'Brien and Berezowitz each added five as well.

The Cats totaled nine rejections on the evening, led by a match-high 5.0 from Carr. Dailey had 4.0, Bultema had 3.0, Hudson and O'Brien each had a pair and DeLeye had one. 

With the win, Kentucky improves to 8-2 on the season and 1-0 in SEC play. The Cats will be back in action Friday inside Historic Memorial Coliseum as they play host to Georgia. First serve against the Bulldogs is set for 7:00 pm and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.