More honors for O'Brien, DeLeye as No. 3 Kentucky VB prepares for No. 2 Texas

by: Zack Geoghegan5 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky volleyball's Brooklyn DeLeye - Tyler Ruth, UK Athletics

A top-three showdown in the Lone Star State will take place later this week.

In the latest AVCA Top 25 poll released Monday, Kentucky volleyball once again checked in at No. 3 in the country, a spot the Wildcats have locked down for the fifth straight week. UK, now 16-2 on the season, has won 13 straight matches and is unbeaten in conference play at 9-0.

Only two undefeated teams sit ahead of Kentucky in the rankings, one being the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-0), which reverse-swept UK all the way back on Aug. 31. The other is the No. 2-ranked Texas Longhorns (18-0), which will go head-to-head with Kentucky this Sunday, November 2 in Austin, TX, in what will be one of the biggest volleyball matches of the entire season. ESPN will broadcast the event, which begins at 1:00 p.m. ET. Texas is receiving two first-place votes, while the remaining 59 all went to Nebraska.

Texas will be the second opponent of the week for Kentucky as Craig Skinner’s squad will first host Vanderbilt on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum (SEC Network+).

🔒 pic.twitter.com/X4VxGvLfyc
— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 27, 2025

But that’s not the only reason Kentucky volleyball is in the news this week. A couple of Wildcats (once again) picked up weekly awards from the Southeastern Conference.

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Freshman setter Kassie O’Brien was tabbed as both the SEC Player of the Week and the SEC Setter of the Week. The Texas native averaged 13.7 assists per set last week as Kentucky beat Mississippi State 3-1 and swept Alabama — both matches coming on the road. O’Brien’s 50 assists against the Crimson Tide set a program record for the most in a three-set match. She now has seven total weekly SEC honors on the season.

All-American hitter Brooklyn DeLeye joined O’Brien on the weekly award list as the junior received SEC Offensive Player of the Week recognition. The product of Kansas averaged 5.3 kills per set in two matches last week while hitting .342 in the process. DeLeye combined to post 38 kills, 18 digs, three assists, and one block during last week’s action.

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