Gaerte Settling in on Offense, Defense for Volleyball Cats

After transferring from Notre Dame, junior Morgan Gaerte was asked to move to the right side of the net this season to help the Kentucky volleyball offense. Things have really started to click for Gaerte over the last three matches.

She had 16 kills and hit .364 in a sweep over UCLA last week. On Sunday night at Wrigley Field, Gaerte had 14 kills and hit .344 in a four-set win over No. 13 Penn State.

Then, in the win over No. 18 North Carolina on Wednesday, Gaerte established a new season high with 17 kills while hitting .382. She started off hot, with eight kills in the first set, then six kills in the second. She finished the match with a season-high 17 kills. Gaerte attributes her recent play to the hard work she and her teammates put in.

“I think it definitely comes with just more practice on the right, just getting in on that” Gaerte said. “Every practice and game helps a lot and then my teammates, I think they communicate so well with me and we just learn more about each other, every play, every rep, so that’s been super helpful.”

Gaerte credits her teammates, specifically setter Kassie O’Brien, with making the transition easier.

“I think it’s been a really cool experience, coming in here in the spring, there are so many things I had to learn and so many things I can work on,” Gaerte said. “I think Kassie has made it really easy for me. After each set, I tell her what I need and she fixes it and we’re overcommunicating during practice and throughout the game.”

Playing all six rotations on Wednesday, Gaerte was also able to set a career high with 11 digs in Wednesday’s win. Her previous high was 10, which she did twice while at Notre Dame. UK head coach Craig Skinner likes what having Gaerte on the back line can provide for the Cats.

“It’s important against good teams to be able to attack,” Skinner said. “There are nine zones along the net and if you’re attacking three or four of them at once, then there’s three blockers on the other side of the net, they have to pick and choose in good situations. So, if you don’t have a back row attack and the setter’s in the front row, then you’re only hitting at two zones or maybe three. We have a couple of rotations with both Morgan and Brooklyn (DeLeye) in the back row and to have four or five attackers all the time is special.”

Having Gaerte play all six rotations proved to be beneficial on Wednesday and could make the Cats even better as the season moves forward.