No. 13 Kentucky VB Wins Ninth-Straight with Four-Set Win Over South Carolina

Freshman Brooklyn DeLeye totaled 15 kills on a .324 hitting clip and the No. 13 Kentucky volleyball team downed South Carolina in four Friday night (25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 25-15) inside the Carolina Volleyball Center.

As she has for much of the season, junior setter Emma Grome did a masterful job of directing the Kentucky attack against the Gamecocks, as the Cats racked up 56 total kills and hit .320 for the match.

Three Wildcats eclipsed double figures on the evening, led by DeLeye’s stellar production on the left side. Along with her 15 kills, Azhani Tealer totaled 13 on a blistering .588 clip and Reagan Rutherford finished with 10. Elise Goetzinger had seven kills of her own, and junior outside hitter Erin Lamb tallied five with only one error after being inserted into the match in the third set.

Junior libero Eleanor Beavin continued to make her case for the coveted SEC Libero of the Year award, as she picked up a match-high 17 digs to go along with four aces and a pair of assists. Audrey Whitworth added eight digs, Molly Tuozzo and DeLeye each had six, and Grome picked up five.

The Kentucky defense held the Gamecocks to just .217 hitting for the match, in large part because of 9.0 total blocks. Tealer led the defensive charge at the net, sending back a match-high five rejections. Rutherford added three, Goetzinger and Grome each had two, and DeLeye had one.

With the victory, Kentucky improves to 12-7 overall and 10-1 in SEC Play and remain atop the conference alone in first place. The Cats will take their nine-match winning streak to Gainesville on Sunday as they take on No. 20 Florida inside Exactech Arena. First serve against the Gators is set for 3:00 pm E.T. and will be broadcast live on ESPN.