The No. 10 Kentucky Volleyball team continued its dominance over the SEC, sweeping No. 9 Arkansas on Wednesday night 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 26-24) at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas to claim its seventh-straight Southeastern Conference championship.
Freshman Brooklyn DeLeye led the Wildcats with a match-high 16 kills and only two errors to hit for .350 in the match along with six digs. Erin Lamb accounted for 12 kills in the match and Reagan Rutherford rounded out the double-figure scorers for UK with 10 kills of her own on only 26 swings in her first match back from an ankle injury.
Kentucky controlled the match from the start, winning the first set 25-19 and the second set 25-14. The third set was a closer affair, with Arkansas leading by as many as four points early on. However, the Wildcats rallied to tie the set at 10-10 and then took the lead for good at 16-15. Kentucky held on to win the set 26-24 to secure the victory and their seventh-straight SEC championship.
Key Stats
- Kentucky hit .271 in the match while Arkansas hit .096.
- Kentucky outblocked Arkansas 13-6.
- Kentucky had 59 digs to Arkansas’ 49.
Key Players
- Brooklyn DeLeye: 16 kills, 6 digs
- Erin Lamb: 12 kills
- Reagan Rutherford: 10 kills
Key Moment
The key moment in the match came in the third set when Arkansas had set point at 24-23. However, Brooklyn DeLeye bailed the Wildcats out with a kill and an Elise Goetzinger kill pushed Kentucky to match point two points later at 25-24. DeLeye then put a peach of a serve in that was overpassed and Elise Goetzinger hammered home Kentucky’s seventh-straight SEC Championship.
Up Next
The Kentucky Volleyball team will host No. 20 Florida on Senior Day in Rupp Arena on Saturday, November 25th at 1:00 p.m. ET.
