Kentucky Volleyball bounces back with 3-0 win over South Carolina
As disappointing as Thursday night’s loss was to South Carolina, no. 5 Kentucky responded resoundingly with a 3-0 domination of those same Gamecocks Friday night. Here’s how it went down:
First Set
Kentucky got right down to business. South Carolina stole the first point but the ‘Cats won the next five to jump out to an early 5-1 lead; which became 9-3 a few moments later before Carolina responded with a rally to cut the lead all the way back to one at 12-11.
But Azhani Tealer and Reagan Rutherford spearheaded an 8-1 run to put UK back in the driver’s seat as the set wore on. Once up eight, the ‘Cats coasted to a 25-16 first-set victory to set the tone.
Second Set
This was the closest set of the three. The teams traded 3-0 runs early and South Carolina held the lead until a 4-0 Kentucky run and three kills from Madi Skinner tied the score at 10 apiece. Then, the ‘Cats and Gamecocks again traded 3-0 runs to keep it close.
The set even finished off with a pair of runs. A 3-0 run by SC gave them a 23-21 advantage but Kentucky one-upped them with a 4-0 run to take the set, 25-23, and a commanding 2-0 advantage.
Third Set
At last, Kentucky looked like the team that cut down the nets in the Spring. The hallmark of that team was third-set blowouts. Once up 2-0, last year’s group would go for the kill. And tonight, the 2021 ‘Cats pounced.
After allowing South Carolina to win the first two points of the set, Kentucky won 16 of the next 18. Absolute domination down the stretch. And that run wasn’t a product of poor play by the opponent. UK hammered the ball straight down their throats, recording kills on 12 of those 16 points while spreading the wealth. Reagan Rutherford, Azhani Tealer, Alli Stumler and Madi Skinner all had multiple kills during the run.
With a massive cushion thanks to the backbreaking run, Kentucky was able to free up some decent playing time for Maddie Berezowitz, Sophie Fisher and Erin Lamb, the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
They eventually took care of business 25-11 to cap off the 3-0 win.
Stats & Recap
Great response from Kentucky following a loss that should have never been on Thursday night. The ‘Cats got efficient offensive production across the board and held South Carolina to a .122% hitting percentage.
Individually, Azhani Tealer led the way on offense. She hit a blistering .714% and had a team-high 11 kills. Not too high a mark for the team leader, but UK got help from everybody at the net tonight.
Alli Stumler was the only other ‘Cat in double figures with 10 kills as Skinner added eight and Rutherford with seven more.
Defensively, Tealer led in blocks as well with five of ’em in just three sets. A terrific mark for UK’s main middle blocker. Stumler, Skinner and Rutherford all added multiple blocks as well to shore up a Kentucky defense that was quite porous the night before.
As always, Kentucky’s two freshmen led in their respective statistical categories. Setter Emma Grome had perhaps her best weekend of the season in Columbia. She’s really come on as a true setter as the year has progressed and finished with 36 assists on Friday. Very encouraging stuff from a freshman in the point guard position of the volleyball court.
Also, freshman libero Eleanor Beavin led in digs with 11 and also racked up a handful of assists throughout the weekend when Kentucky couldn’t find Grome on that second hit.
A much-needed, strong performance following up UK’s first misstep in conference play. Next up, it’s a trio of home games this coming week as Georgia visits Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday (6 p.m. ESPNU) and Texas A&M rolls into town for matches on Saturday (3 p.m. SECNetwork+) and Sunday (2 p.m. SECNetwork).
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