Kentucky VB holds down No. 3 ranking, Kassie O'Brien named SEC Setter of the Week

Off to a 2-0 start in SEC play, Kentucky volleyball continues to look like a title contender.

The Wildcats (9-2) checked in at No. 3 in Monday’s AVCA Top 25 poll update, breaking a two-way tie for the third spot with Stanford from last week’s rankings. Craig Skinner’s team swept both of its opening week conference opponents, taking down South Carolina and Georgia at home with ease. UK overcame a massive second-set deficit before beating the Gamecocks, while Lizzie Carr posted a career-high 13 kills against the Bulldogs.

While Carr and the rest of her teammates all played at a high level, it was freshman Kassie O’Brien who came away with more hardware. For the second time this season, she was named the SEC Setter of the Week on Monday by the league office. O’Brien registered 40 assists and 34 assists in her first two SEC matches while guiding the ‘Cats to a .353 team hitting percentage. The Texas native added 13 digs and four blocks for good measure.

And now it’s time to play my favorite game: how many more ranked opponents does Kentucky have left on the schedule? If you don’t already know, the Wildcats took on five Top 10 teams during the non-conference, posting a 3-2 record along the way. Looking ahead, UK still has to face No. 2 Texas, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 23 Florida, not to mention an Auburn team that is receiving votes in the latest poll. The road to a ninth straight SEC championship will not be easy to traverse.

Kentucky is only set to play one match this week, a road trip to Oxford for a Friday showdown against Ole Miss at 7:00 p.m. ET (SEC Network). The Rebels enter this conference matchup with a 9-4 record, having lost to Arkansas and beaten Oklahoma in their first two SEC contests. Ole Miss lost its lone match this season against a ranked foe, falling to then-No. 22 Georgia Tech in four sets.