No. 10 Kentucky Travels to Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 10 Kentucky (11-2, 2-0 SEC) volleyball team will look to stay unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play this weekend when the Wildcats travel to Mississippi State (9-9, 0-3 SEC) on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The match can be watched live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
Kentucky is 47-2 all-time against MSU and is currently riding an eight-match winning streak. UK’s last loss to the Bulldogs was in 2011 at the Newell-Grissom Building in Starkville.
After Sunday’s match, the Wildcats will return to the Bluegrass state to take on Alabama Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. Fans will receive a UK pillowcase at the match and the team will sign autographs after the match. Tickets are available here.
Scouting the Opponent – Mississippi State
Mississippi State is 9-9 overall this season and 0-3 in the SEC, with losses to South Carolina, Tennessee and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are 5-5 at home this season, with wins over Grambling, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Jacksonville State and Southeastern Louisiana. As a team, MSU is averaging 12 kills a set and hitting .184. Jelena Vujcin leads the Bulldogs with 3.55 kills per set, and averages 2.09 digs per frame. Gabby Zgunda leads MSU in scoops with 3.33 per set. Laura Rose Gray and Liv Benner lead in blocks per set with 0.82 and 0.65, respectively.
Another Player of the Week Award
For the second time in her career, freshman Madison Lilley won SEC Player and Setter of the Week for her performance in the opening week of conference play. Lilley averaged 13.0 assists per set in victories against Missouri and LSU. She amassed 91 total helpers in seven sets of action for the week. The freshman helped UK hit a scorching .524 in the sweep of LSU, marking the second time UK has converted above .500 this season. The Overland Park, Kansas, native had 52 assists in the win over Mizzou and added 12 digs, while also directing Leah Edmond to a career-best hitting percentage. Lilley produced her fifth career double-double in just her 13th career match. UK hit .313 in the win and the Wildcats posted 63 terminations.
Offensive Player of the Week
Sophomore Leah Edmond earned her first weekly league award of the season after her play against Missouri and LSU. Edmond was on fire during her first two SEC matches of the season. She swung at a .442 attacking clip in the two wins, including a career-best .485 in the four-set win over Missouri. In her career night, she added 18 kills and committed just two errors on 33 swings. She hit double-digits for the 11th time this season against LSU with a .386 attacking percentage. Kentucky produced nine aces against the Tigers, with Edmond and Madison Lilley both posting a team-high three. The Lexington, Kentucky, native was impressive on the defensive side as well. She added eight digs in each match and boasted nine total blocks.
Hitting .500…Again
The Wildcats hit over .500 in a three-set sweep for the second time this season in their win over LSU. UK had an attacking clip of .524 and posted 49 kills. Avery Skinner and Leah Edmond each contributed 10 kills, a match high. Madison Lilley put up 52 assists to help the Cats on offense. UK set a school record earlier in the season against Loyola (Chicago) after hitting .548.
Honoring Sarah Rumely
Former Kentucky volleyball player Sarah Rumely was honored Sept. 22 when she was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. Rumely is the only player in program history to be named SEC Freshman of the Year (2006) and SEC Player of the Year (2008). She is a two-time AVCA All-American, four-time All-SEC, and an Academic All-American third team honoree. Rumely led her team to the NCAA tournament four times, including the Sweet 16 in 2009. She finished her career owning UK records in career assists (5,703) and aces (165). Her 5,703 career assists also ranked fifth all-time in SEC history. Rumely capped her career ranking in the top 10 in sets played (third), block assists (ninth), digs and attack percentage (10th). She is the only player to record a triple-double in a match in program history (10 kills, 56 assists, 18 digs vs. Ole Miss (University of Mississippi)). Rumely led her team to a No. 7 national ranking in 2009. After UK, she played professionally overseas. Rumely is currently an assistant coach at Louisiana State University.
Kentucky in the National and League Rankings
Freshman Madison Lilley is No. 10 in the nation in assists per set at 11.72. She’s No. 2 in the conference, behind Rachel Rippee of Arkansas.
Leah Edmond is currently No. 27 in the nation in kills per set at 4.34 and second in the SEC, behind the national leader, Pilar Victoria of Arkansas.
Emily Franklin is No. 22 in that nation in hitting percentage at .407. She’s third in the SEC, behind Rachael Kramer of Florida and Shaina White of Auburn.
As a team, Kentucky is fourth in the nation in hitting percentage at .326. UK is the highest SEC team. UK sits at No. 7 in kills per set at 14.7, also the best SEC squad.
Record Holder
Kaz Brown set the 25-point rally scoring era record for total blocks in the match against Loyola earlier in the season. She’ll head into the week with 478 total blocks, and also holds the block assists record with 427.
Chasing Records
Kaz Brown is climbing the 25-point rally scoring era record book in multiple categories. The Waterloo, Iowa, native is currently in second in solo blocks (51). The senior is also seventh in kills at 826 and 10th in attack attempts at 1,712.
Emily Franklin is currently ninth in block solos with 30, third in blocks assists at 298 and fourth in total blocks at 328. Franklin also has the sixth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .319.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is ninth all-time with 708 kills and seventh in attacks with 1,890. In total points, she is in ninth with 805.5.
Ashley Dusek is currently third in the rally scoring era with 1,251 digs and ninth in assists at 205.
Career Leaders
Kaz Brown is currently third in the country among active players in career blocks. Her 478 total blocks trail only Faith Dooley of North Dakota and Rhamat Alhassan of Florida.
AVCA Ranking
The Wildcats are ranked after week five, staying at No. 10 for the second straight week. Under head coach Craig Skinner, the team has been ranked for 104 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 15-consecutive weeks. Skinner’s highest ranking was No. 7 in 2009.
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