No. 6 Kentucky Wraps Up Regular Season at Arkansas, Georgia
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 6 Kentucky (24-3, 15-1 SEC) volleyball team will travel to Arkansas (18-10, 8-8 SEC) and Georgia (19-10, 9-7 SEC) this week to wrap up the regular season. UK will take on Arkansas on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network+, while the match with UGA will take place on Friday at 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Kentucky is currently tied atop the Southeastern Conference standings with Florida heading into the final week. Two wins from the Wildcats will clinch an SEC championship for UK. The Cats have not won the league regular-season title since 1988.
UK is currently the No. 1 team in the latest Ratings Performance Index, jumping up two spots from last week. Arkansas sits at No. 57 and Georgia is No. 62.
Scouting the Opponent – Arkansas
Arkansas is 18-10 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, and are 6-4 in its last 10 matches. The Razorbacks are led on offense by league leader and the nation’s runner-up in kills per set, Pilar Victoria, at 5.45. Victoria is also second in the nation in attacks per set at 13.64 per frame. Rachel Rippee is second in the conference in assists per set at 11.25. As a team, Arkansas is fifth in kills per set at 13.59. On defense, the Razorbacks average 14.37 digs per set and are seventh in the SEC.
Scouting the Opponent – Georgia
Georgia is 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. Kentucky took on the Bulldogs just last Friday, when UK swept UGA. The Wildcats were led by Avery Skinner, who recorded a match-high 13 kills on 22 swings. Georgia leads the conference in service aces at 1.57 aces per frame, while seven-time SEC Freshman of the Week T’ara Ceasar leads in that category at 0.42. Ceasar is third in the SEC in kills per set at 4.20, and 26th in the nation. Meghan Donovan dishes out 11.02 assists per set, the third best in the conference and 28th best in the nation.
Honoring Our Seniors
On Sunday, Kentucky honored its five seniors – Kaz Brown, Ashley Dusek, Emily Franklin, Harper Hempel and Darian Mack for senior day. The class has combined for 95 wins so far, and has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons.
The Awards Keep Coming
Kentucky won three more weekly awards for its performance against Georgia and Ole Miss. Senior Kaz Brown won SEC Player and Offensive Player of the Week after racking up an impressive 28 kills in just six sets, including 18 in the sweep of Ole Miss. The 18 terminations were her season best and two off her career high of 20, which she set two years ago. Brown committed just one error in the two matches and hit .659 on 41 swings. She hit over .600 in both matches, and has reached that mark in six matches this year.
Freshman Madison Lilley won her eighth SEC Setter of the Week award of the season after posting 47 assists in the win over Ole Miss on Sunday, a three-set record for an individual. She helped the Cats set a 25-point rally scoring era record with 58 kills vs. the Rebels. UK also hit over .400 for the fifth time this season. Lilley averaged 12.17 helpers per frame over the weekend, while helping the team hit .395 during the two sweeps.
Three Set Records
Against Ole Miss on Sunday, Kentucky set multiple three set offensive records. UK had 58 kills and 47 assists, both 25-point rally scoring era records. Kentucky’s 58 kills topped the program record of 55, which was set twice, including against Loyola (Chicago) earlier this season. Lilley had all 47 assists, which was an individual record in a three-set match.
No. 1 In the RPI
In the latest ratings percentage index, Kentucky came in at No. 1, jumping up two spots from the previous week. Florida is No. 2, while Texas, Penn State and Stanford round out the top five.
What a Season
Leah Edmond’s 429 kills this season are already the third-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 1,156 assists this season are already the ninth most in a single season in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Efficient Terminator
Senior Emily Franklin leads the team in attacking percentage at .420, 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.
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.
Kentucky in the National and SEC Rankings
Freshman Madison Lilley is No. 5 in the nation in assists per set at 12.04. She leads the SEC, while Rachel Rippee of Arkansas is second.
Leah Edmond is currently No. 16 in the nation in kills per set at 4.47 and second in the SEC, behind Pilar Victoria of Arkansas.
Emily Franklin is No. 10 in that nation in hitting percentage at .420. She’s second in the league behind Rachael Kramer of Florida.
As a team, Kentucky is third in the nation in hitting percentage at .319. UK is the highest-rated SEC team in that category. UK sits at No. 4 in kills per set at 15.05, 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 960 and ninth in attack attempts at 1,974.
Emily Franklin is currently ninth in block solos with 32, third in blocks assists at 340 and third in total blocks at 372. Franklin also has the fifth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .337. In points, she is ninth at 922.0.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is 9th all-time with 790 kills and seventh in attacks with 2,097.
Ashley Dusek is currently third in the rally scoring era with 1,472 digs and ninth in assists at 242.
Leah Edmond is eighth all-time in kills at 879 and eighth in points with 995.5
Highest Ranking In the Craig Skinner Era
The Wildcats are No. 6 in the nation. Kentucky coach Craig Skinner had never had the program ranked higher. UK’s highest ranking ever is No. 5, and the Wildcats haven’t been ranked No. 6 since 1993. The team has been ranked for 111 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 21-consecutive weeks.
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
