Behind the offensive spark from sophomore Leah Edmond and senior Kaz Brown, the No. 6 Kentucky volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 30-28) win over visiting Tennessee to preserve its 12th-consecutive victory in front of 2,422 fans in Memorial Coliseum. Edmond and Brown set records in the process.
Brown became UK’s all-time leading blocker in every category of the 25-point rally-scoring era with six total blocks in today’s match. She had two solo rejections to run her total to 56 in her career and top Becky Pavan’s record of 55. Edmond tied her own program record with the most kills in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era with 19. She also achieved the feat twice last season.
With the win, Kentucky improves to 17-2 overall on the year and 8-0 in Southeastern Conference action. Tennessee falls to 10-8 on the year and 3-6 against league foes. Today’s win also marked the 13th season in which UK has won 17 or more matches under the direction of Craig Skinner. It is the longest such streak in program history.
Edmond had 19 kills on a .372 hitting clip in the win. Nine of those kills came in a dominating opening set performance. She also added eight digs, a block and an ace in the win. Brown had 13 kills on a .370 clip, while adding the team-high six blocks. She matched Edmond’s effort with nine kills in the decisive third set
Freshman setter Madison Lilley had 48 assists, six digs, two blocks, two kills and an ace in another all-around performance. She directed the UK offense to the tune of 55 kills on a .308 clip. Kentucky matched the three-set rally-scoring era record with 55 kills in today’s win. UK also turned the trick on Oct. 16, 2016 against Ole Miss.
Senior Ashley Dusek led the charge from the backline defense with a match-high 15 digs. Junior McKenzie Watson and freshman Gabby Curry both contributed seven in the win.
Seniors Darian Mack and Emily Franklin had seven and six kills, respectively. Mack added a pair of blocks, while Franklin chipped in with three and two digs. Freshman Avery Skinner had eight kills and two blocks.
(Courtesy UK Athletics)
(Photos Courtesy of Vicky Graff)
