Two Wildcats pick up weekly honors as Kentucky VB holds onto No. 3 ranking

After another 2-0 week that featured a five-set thriller against Florida, Kentucky volleyball maintained its No. 3 ranking.

In Monday’s updated AVCA Top 25 poll, the Wildcats checked in at No. 3 for the fourth straight week. Kentucky cruised to a 3-1 win over Auburn in the middle of the week before overcoming a 2-1 set deficit against the Gators on Sunday at home. At the time, Florida was the first team ranked outside of the Top 25, which they held onto in this week’s poll.

A couple of Wildcats picked up weekly honors along the way, as well. Freshman setter Kassie O’Brien was named the SEC Freshman of the Week, marking her fourth straight weekly conference award and fifth of the season. She was joined by junior libero Molly Tuozzo, who earned a Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

O’Brien averaged 10 assists per set last week, totaling a combined 90 assists, 19 digs, nine blocks, four kills, and two aces in Kentucky’s wins. As for Tuozzo, this was her first SEC honor of the year. She logged 34 digs and 14 assists throughout the week while helping hold opponents to a .132 hitting percentage. The Texas native is up to six straight matches with at least 10 digs.

Kentucky (14-2) has now won 11 straight matches and is a perfect 7-0 in the SEC. Looking ahead, Craig Skinner’s squad will hit the road this week for a pair of contests against Mississippi State (Friday, Oct. 24) and Alabama (Sunday, Oct. 26). Neither opponent is ranked or receiving votes in this week’s poll, but UK has a target on its back as one of the top programs in the country.

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