UK Volleyball Welcomes Texas A&M for Midweek Tilt

The No. 8 Kentucky volleyball team (14-2, 5-0 SEC) welcomes Texas A&M (5-7, 2-3 SEC) to Memorial Coliseum for a nationally televised match on Wednesday night. First serve is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network with Cara Capuano and Lizzy Stemke on the call.
UK is riding a nine-match winning streak heading into Wednesday’s match, while the Aggies took down Mississippi State on Sunday. Tickets for tomorrow’s league showdown, which is UK’s annual Dig Pink match, can be purchased here.
Match Day Information
Doors will open one hour prior to first serve. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and travel light for quicker entry.
Kentucky is excited to introduce ticket scanning at Memorial Coliseum this season. Season and single-game volleyball tickets will now be barcoded and scanned for validity at each entrance. By barcoding tickets, fans will soon have access to more ticket management features than ever before.
Bags entering Memorial Coliseum may not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″. All bags are subject to visual inspection upon entry. An exception will be made for medically necessary items, after proper inspection. Please note, backpacks are not permitted inside Memorial Coliseum, regardless of size.
Complete match day information can be found at our game day site by clicking here.
Parking Information
All E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum including the North Craft, High Street, Rose Street, and Linden Walk employee lots are available for event parking beginning three hours prior to first serve. Additionally, the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the Rose Street Garage (PS#2) are available two hours prior to first serve.
A shuttle is available free of charge from the South Limestone Garage (Parking Structure #5). The pick-up/drop-off point at the South Limestone Garage is located on Administration Drive. We ask that all patrons access this pick-up/drop-off location by the sky bridge, accessible from level three of the parking structure. The shuttle pick-up/drop-off location at Memorial Coliseum is located at the front of the Coliseum on Avenue of Champions.
Shuttle services begin 2 hours pre-match and will continue 20 minutes after the first serve and will resume post-match for 1 hour.
Disabled parking is available in the North Craft lot. Spaces are limited and provided on a first come, first served basis with a valid, state-issued disabled parking hangtag.
Scouting the Opponent – TAMU
Texas A&M heads to Lexington 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the SEC this season. The Aggies have faced a very difficult schedule this season. TAMU has faced two No. 1 (Florida, Stanford) teams in the country, No. 5 Penn State and two No. 6 (Wisconsin, Texas) teams in the nation. Texas A&M has wins over Sam Houston State, VCU, Lipscomb, Georgia and Mississippi State. They are led on offense by Hollann Hans, who averages 3.93 kills per frame and is a kill higher than the second-leading termination producer, Kiara McGee (2.86). Last week’s co-setter of the week with Madison Lilley, Camille Conner, leads the way in assists per frame at 8.93. Amy Nettles averages 3.61 digs per frame while two Aggies – Camille Conner and Amy Houser – average over two.
Player of the Week
Leah Edmond earned SEC Player and Offensive Player of the week for her performance last weekend against Alabama and Auburn. She had 36 kills in the two matches, including 25 in the four set win over Auburn on Sunday. Her 25 terminations were one shy of her career best and tied her best league performance of her career. Edmond averaged 4.50 kills per frame, higher than her season average of 4.29.
Edmond produced on defense as well. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season and 12th of her career after adding 17 digs to her 11 kills against Alabama.
Third-Straight Setter of the Week
Freshman Madison Lilley continued her stellar freshman campaign where she had already won Setter or Co-Setter of the Week three other times this season. The Overland Park, Kansas, native recorded a double-double in both matches and now has seven in her career.
Against Alabama, Lilley posted 54 assists and helped the Cats hit .278 with 64 kills. She added 11 digs and two kills, two blocks and an ace. Against Auburn, She produced 50 more helpers and 12 scoops, while directing UK to hit above .300 for the ninth time this season. She was a threat as well, adding four kills on eight attempts.
Top Freshman in the Nation
Madison Lilley is the nation’s top freshman in assists per set at 11.90. She is 0.32 assists per frame higher than No. 2 Sydney Hilley of Wisconsin, who is at 11.58 helpers per set. Lilley’s 11.90 is No. 7 in the nation overall, with only two underclassmen in front of her.
Fifth-Year Senior Setting Career Highs
Emily Franklin had the most complete match of her career in the victory over Alabama. The senior had 14 kills and six digs, which were both career highs. She had a hitting percentage of .444 in the win and added five blocks.
Efficient Terminator
Franklin leads the team in attacking percentage at .423, and has been incredibly efficient this season. She has hit .500 or above seven times this season, and has not hit below .400 since Kentucky began its nine match winning streak on Sept. 9 against Loyola (Chicago).
Nine-Straight Wins
Kentucky is currently on a nine-match winning streak, and the Cats have been stellar on offense in that streak. UK has not needed five sets to beat any opponent during the run. Kentucky is hitting .365 over one month span and has held opponents to just a .191 attacking percentage. Madison Lilley is averaging 12.53 assists per frame, while Leah Edmond has 4.22 kills per set to her name. Four other Wildcats – Avery Skinner, Kaz Brown, Emily Franklin and Darian Mack – are averaging over two per frame.
Emily Franklin is hitting a scorching .523 in the streak, while Kaz Brown and Darian Mack are hitting .458 and .420, respectively.
Kentucky in the National and SEC Rankings
Freshman Madison Lilley is No. 7 in the nation in assists per set at 11.90. She leads the SEC while Rachel Rippee of Arkansas is second.
Leah Edmond is currently No. 29 in the nation in kills per set at 4.29 and second in the SEC, behind the national leader, Pilar Victoria of Arkansas.
Emily Franklin is No. 10 in that nation in hitting percentage at .423. She’s second in the SEC, behind Rachael Kramer of Florida
As a team, Kentucky is fourth in the nation in hitting percentage at .325. UK is the highest-rated SEC team in that category. UK sits at No. 3 in kills per set at 14.9, also the best among the league.
Record Holder
Kaz Brown set the 25-point rally scoring era record for total blocks in the match against Loyola earlier in the season. She’ll head into the week with 493 total blocks, and also holds the block assists record with 440.
Chasing Records
Kaz Brown is climbing the 25-point rally scoring era record book in multiple categories. The Waterloo, Iowa, native is currently in second in solo blocks (53). The senior is also seventh in kills at 854 and ninth in attack attempts at 1,770.
Emily Franklin is currently ninth in block solos with 31, third in blocks assists at 312 and third in total blocks at 343. Franklin also has the fifth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .326.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is ninth all-time with 731 kills and seventh in attacks with 1,938. In total points, she is in ninth with 830.5.
Ashley Dusek is currently third in the rally scoring era with 1,295 digs and ninth in assists at 206.
Career Leaders
Kaz Brown is currently third in the country among active players in career blocks. Her 493 total blocks trail only Faith Dooley of North Dakota and Rhamat Alhassan of Florida.
AVCA Ranking
The Wildcats are ranked after week six, moving to No. 8 in the nation. Under head coach Craig Skinner, the team has been ranked for 106 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 16-consecutive weeks. Skinner’s highest ranking was No. 7 in 2009.
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Deb Moore