Gracison Saylors Shines in SEC Debut, No. 6 Kentucky Sweeps Bama
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Gracison Saylors shined in her Southeastern Conference debut Friday night as No. 6 Kentucky used seven of her kills and six blocks to sweep Alabama convincingly 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-15) on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky hit .411 on the night, its highest-offensive precenting hitting output for the 2026 SEC season and the third time this year that Kentucky has hit .411 or higher on the season. Two Wildcat players reached double-figure scoring with Brooklyn DeLeye leading the charge on 14 kills and Lizzie Carr notching 11 kills on just 15 swings to hit .667 for the evening. Morgan Gaerte had nine kills to only two errors in the match with five digs, as well.
Defensively for the Wildcats, Molly Tuozzo led the way with 11 digs and helped to keep Alabama under .100 hitting for the match with the Crimson Tide only managing a .056 hitting percentage for the match and 18 errors in the three-set match. At the net, Gracison Saylors led the way in her first-career match as she had six blocks, one solo and was responsible for 10.5 points on the scoreline.
Kentucky sided out over 75 percent in all three sets, something it has not done yet this year in serve receive, and the Wildcats were also able to apply great service pressure themselves, launching four aces in the match and holding Alabama at an under 50 percent sideout ratio in two of the three sets and under 50 percent for the overall match, as well.
Senior Day and the final home match of the 2026 regular season will be Sunday, Nov. 8 as Kentucky plays host to Mississippi State in HMC. The senior day ceremonies that will pay tribute to Lizzie Carr and Molly Berezowitz will begin at 12:45 p.m. ET, as fans are asked to arrive early and be in their seats for the ceremony 15 minutes before the match. Doors to HMC open 75 minutes prior to first serve and all match day parking options will be in use Sunday with a large crowd expected.
With Friday night’s win, Kentucky is now 17-5 in 2026 overall and remains in second place in the SEC with a 9-3 league record with three match days remaining. Alabama falls to 10-12 on the year and 1-11 in the SEC.
For the latest on UK Volleyball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @KentuckyVB.
