Kentucky VB Overcomes Early Struggles to Sweep LSU on the Road

No. 3 Kentucky volleyball picked up another victory Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge, sweeping the LSU Tigers 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) in convincing fashion.

Brooklyn DeLeye dominated for the Cats with a double-double, tallying 20 kills and 11 digs while hitting .326 on the day. Eva Hudson recorded 10 kills to fuel Kentucky’s offense, while libero Molly Tuozzo steadily anchored the back row with a team-high 14 digs, helping lead the Cats to another win in SEC play.

Kentucky got off to a slow start in the first set, falling behind 4-1 as LSU’s Jurnee Robinson dominated with seven early kills. The Tigers maintained control for much of the set until the Cats crawled their way back to take the lead 12-11. Ava Safara got hot, putting together a 4-0 run off of her serves to help spark the Cats’ energy. Despite several lead changes late in the set, the Wildcats were able to find their rhythm to pull ahead late, taking the set 25-22.

In the second set, it seemed the Cats were able to shake off their early overconfidence and settle into the intensity brought by the Tigers, jumping out to an 8-5 lead. LSU’s defensive presence at the net appeared to rattle Kentucky, as they were getting hands on several swings, recording six blocks. Instead of folding under pressure, the Wildcats rallied, pulling ahead 18-15. Building momentum, Kentucky cleaned up its play with a 4-0 run to close out the set strongly, 25-18.

The third set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 11 ties and five lead changes, with neither team being able to gain separation. LSU put together a 6-2 run halfway through the set, taking a 19-17 lead to force a Kentucky timeout. After the Tigers took a 23-21 advantage, the Cats didn’t hang their heads. DeLeye sparked the comeback with back-to-back kills before Kentucky closed the match on consecutive points to take the set 25-23.

Despite not playing to their full potential, Kentucky showed resilience and determination throughout the match, never giving up even when they lacked momentum. The Wildcats worked through its mistakes and tough stretches by rallying behind each other to pull out yet another win, making them 12-2 on the season and a perfect 5-0 in the SEC.

For their next match, Kentucky will head home to Memorial Coliseum to face the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. (SEC Network+). Fans can expect another SEC showdown as UK looks to learn from its recent performance and pick up another valuable win in the conference.