Grome Directs No. 12 UK Past Missouri in Four for 14th-Straight Win

With Reagan Rutherford sidelined with an ankle injury, freshman Brooklyn DeLeye led the No. 12 Kentucky volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Missouri Sunday (25-12, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21) to pick up its 14^th-straight win. 

Despite Rutherford’s absence, Kentucky’s offense didn’t miss a beat as Emma Grome directed the team to 56 total kills with only 12 hitting errors. The setter dished out a match-high 48 assists and ran the offense at a .386 clip. 

Three Wildcats eclipsed double figures, led by 20 kills from DeLeye on a .318 clip. Elise Goetzinger finished the afternoon with 11 kills and only one error and Erin Lamb tallied 10 terminations. Azhani Tealer added seven kills of her own and Megan Wilson had 6 filling in for Rutherford on the right side. 

Defensively, the Kentucky defense forced Missouri into 24 hitting errors and a .217 hitting clip. Tealer picked up a match-high 5.0 rejections and Goetzinger and Wilson each added four. On the back line, junior Eleanor Beavin totaled 13 digs and picked up a trio of assists and a service ace. Molly Tuozzo added eight digs of her own, and Grome and DeLeye each had six. 

With the win, Kentucky improves to 17-7 overall and 15-1 in the Southeastern Conference. They remain a game ahead of Arkansas and Tennessee in first place atop the league with two matches remaining. Next up, the Cats will travel to Fayetteville for a rematch against No. 10 Arkansas to close out the road slate of the regular season before returning home Saturday for a regular season finale against No. 20 Florida. 

Following the match, Erin Lamb joined Hunter Mitchell and Leah Edmond live on Point Kentucky to discuss the Cats’ victory over the Tigers and the team’s mindset heading into a huge final week of the regular season. Check out the video below to watch the interview and get a preview of Wednesday’s match against No. 10 Arkansas.

With only two matches remaining, if Kentucky picks up a win in either match they will capture at least a share of the SEC Championship for the seventh-straight year. If they win both, they will be named outright champions and receive the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. First serve Wednesday against the Razorbacks is set for 8:00 pm E.T.