No. 6 Kentucky Volleyball Hosts Georgia on Friday

The No. 6 Kentucky (22-3, 13-1 SEC) volleyball team will welcome Georgia (18-9, 8-6 SEC) to Memorial Coliseum on Friday. First serve is set for 7 p.m., and will be streamed live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app with Clay Ables and Shannon Murphy on the call.
UK heads into the final weekend of regular season play at home on a three match winning streak, while Georgia holds the same streak. Kentucky is ranked No. 3 in latest ranking percentage index, while UGA comes in at No. 57.
Kentucky will sign autographs after the match for the final time this season. Tickets for Friday’s 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.
Season and single-game volleyball tickets are now barcoded and scanned for validity at each entrance. By barcoding tickets, fans will have access to more ticket management features
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 – Georgia
Georgia is 18-9 overall and 8-6 in the SEC this season. T’ara Ceasar has earned six SEC Freshman of the Week awards this season, and leads the team in kills per set at 4.21 and aces per set at 0.23. She is the highest-ranking freshman in the nation in kills and points per set. The Bulldogs are the conference leader in aces per set at 1.64 and is 18th in the country. They are in the top 50 in the nation in kills per set and at hitting percentage at 13.74 and .249, respectively.
50 Digs, Two Matches, Player of the Week
Senior Ashley Dusek won her first Player and Defensive Player of the Week awards of the season following stellar defensive performances against Auburn and Alabama on the road. Dusek averaged an impressive 7.14 digs per set, close to three digs above her season average of 4.17. She had the match high in scoops in each win, and produced a season-high 28 in the four-setter against the Crimson Tide. The East Bernard, Texas, native did not commit a reception error in either match.
Vote Dusek
Dusek has been named a finalist for the Senior CLASS award, Premier Sports Management announced Nov. 10. The award is given to a single Division I volleyball student-athlete who excels both on and off the court.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October. Nationwide fan voting is taking place now, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through December 4. Fan votes will then be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award recipient will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.
Setter of the Week, Again!
Madison Lilley brought home her 10th weekly award after posting two matches with 40 or more assists against Alabama and Auburn. Those two victories were her 13th and 14th matches with more than 40 assists this season. Against Auburn Lilley directed the offense to the tune of 53 kills while averaging 14.33 assists per set. The Cats hit a blistering .397 as a team and committed just seven errors on 116 swings. Against the Crimson Tide, Lilley had 48 assists while the Cats produced 64 kills and hit .269. Her 13 assists per frame average was well above her already impressive season average of 11.90 assists per frame.
Back-to-Back 20+ Kills
Leah Edmond won her seventh weekly honor after racking up an impressive 5.86 kills per set in Kentucky’s two wins over Alabama and Auburn, well over her already impressive season average of 4.44. Against Auburn, Edmond had 20 kills and committed just two errors in 36 swings, good for her second-best attacking percentage of the season at .500. Her first match of the week saw her add 21 kills in the four set victory. Edmond was a threat on defense as well, and was one dig short of a double-double against the Tigers and produced 14 over the two sets.
What a Season
Leah Edmond’s 400 kills this season are already the fifth-best single season kill mark in the 25-point rally scoring era. Her .315 season attack average is the sixth best in a single season.
Madison Lilley’s 1,071 assists this season are already the ninth most in a single season in the 25-point rally scoring era.
14 Straight Wins
UK won 14 straight from Sept. 9 to Nov. 3 Emily Franklin was on fire, hitting .495 while averaging 2.29 kills per set and 1.22 blocks per frame in the streak. Leah Edmond led the team with 4.20 terminations per set and has been stellar defensively as well, with 2.02 digs per frame. Kentucky as a team has held its opponents to a .182 attacking percentage in that time and just 11.3 kills per set. The winning streak was Craig Skinner’s longest as a coach. UK had a 13 match winning streak last season.
Efficient Terminator
Senior Emily Franklin leads the team in attacking percentage at .428, and has been incredibly efficient this season. She has hit .500 or above 10 times, and had an 11-match streak where she hit over .400 from Sept. 9 to Oct. 15.
Kentucky in the National and SEC Rankings
Freshman Madison Lilley is No. 6 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. 18 in the nation in kills per set at 4.44 and second in the SEC, behind the national leader, Pilar Victoria of Arkansas.
Emily Franklin is No. 9 in that nation in hitting percentage at .428. She’s second in the league behind Rachael Kramer of Florida.
As a team, Kentucky is fifth in the nation in hitting percentage at .314. UK is the highest-rated SEC team in that category. UK sits at No. 5 in kills per set at 14.87, also the best among the league.
Chasing Records
Kaz Brown is climbing the 25-point rally scoring era record book in multiple categories. The Waterloo, Iowa, native is currently in first in solo blocks (57), block assists (477) and total blocks (534). The senior is also fifth in kills at 932 and ninth in attack attempts at 1,933.
Emily Franklin is currently ninth in block solos with 31, third in blocks assists at 338 and third in total blocks at 369. Franklin also has the fifth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .337. In points, she is tied for ninth at 907.0.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is 9th all-time with 785 kills and seventh in attacks with 2,087.
Ashley Dusek is currently third in the rally scoring era with 1,386 digs and ninth in assists at 227.
Leah Edmond is eighth all-time in kills at 850 and eighth in points with 962.5
Follow along with the Wildcats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Deb Moore