How Kentucky Dominated Creighton to Punch Final Four Ticket

Kentucky volleyball’s Elite Eight sweep of Creighton on Saturday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum was the culmination of everything this team has been building towards all season: depth, physicality, and an unshakeable belief in its identity.

“This team never ceases to amaze me with the level they can rise to at any given challenge,” praised Craig Skinner of his team.

From the opening serve, the Cats set a tone that reflected both composure and urgency. While the Bluejays found an early rhythm in extended rallies, the Wildcats never wavered. Instead, Kentucky leaned on relentless defense, first-ball control, and a steady offensive balance that grew in their favor. Skinner’s ability to remain flexible with his lineup proved vital, allowing the Cats to respond to momentum swings without giving up offensive flow or block structure.

The defining theme of the match was Kentucky’s pin efficiency against a well-formed Creighton block. Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye combined for 31 kills, consistently scoring in high hands or tooling the block when clean swings weren’t available. Kassie O’Brien’s distribution under pressure kept Creighton from keying in on any single attacker, while Asia Thigpen’s ability to score off-speed punished the Bluejays when the double block was set early. Kentucky didn’t need volume scoring; it needed smart, repeatable execution, and it got exactly that.

Defensively, the Wildcats matched Creighton’s discipline point for point. Kennedy Washington’s net presence narrowed attacking lanes and disrupted timing, even when it didn’t result in direct blocks. As the match progressed, Kentucky’s block touches improved, allowing Molly Tuozzo and the back row to set up in predictable defensive patterns. That structure showed most clearly late in the match, when Creighton struggled to convert long rallies, and Kentucky turned extended points into momentum-shifting runs.

“It just makes me want to get the kill more,” said Hudson of her teammates Molly Berezowitz, Tuozzo, and Ward’s ability to dig hard balls. “Those are big momentum plays, and I don’t want to let them down. If they make such a big play, then I should too.”

The numbers supported the effort: the Wildcats hit .263, held Creighton to an outstanding .066, and won the serve-and-pass battle that ultimately decided the match. More importantly, Kentucky adjusted in real time to improve block timing, clean up passing, and close sets without allowing Creighton to string together runs.

With the sweep, the Cats finished the season undefeated at home and punched a ticket to the program’s second Final Four. Now, Kentucky travels to Kansas City and is looking like a team built to adapt, survive, and finish on the sport’s biggest stage.