No. 7 Kentucky Travels to Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 7 Kentucky volleyball team (21-3, 12-1 SEC) travels to Auburn (14-18, 7-6 SEC) on Sunday to continue Southeastern Conference play. First serve is set for 2:30 pm. ET and will be shown live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
Kentucky and Auburn have already faced off once this season, meeting in early October inside Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky won in four sets over the Tigers, 25-19, 25-14, 30-32, 25-21.
UK is No. 4 in the latest rating percentage index, while Auburn sits at No. 38.
After Sunday, the Cats will return to Memorial on Friday to take on Georgia at 7 p.m.
Scouting the Opponent – Auburn
Auburn is 14-18 overall and 7-9 in the SEC. Auburn is currently riding a three match winning streak after defeating South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. The Tigers are second in the SEC in digs per set at 15.99, while Jesse Earl leads all individuals in the league at 5.07 per frame. Earl is also fourth in the conference in aces per set at 0.41. Auburn is fourth in the SEC in kills per set at 13.68, and have four – Brenna McIlroy, Shaina White, Gwyn Jones and Anna Stevenson – that average more than two kills per frame.
Earlier this season, Kentucky and Auburn met inside Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky won in four sets, and Leah Edmond had an impressive 25 kills with just four errors for a .438 hitting percentage. Three Wildcats – Ashley Dusek, Madison Lilley and Gabby Curry – had double-digit digs in the win, while Lilley had a double-double.
Vote Dusek
Senior libero Ashley Dusek has been named a finalist for the Senior CLASS award, Premier Sports Management announced Nov. 10. The award is given to a single Division I volleyball student-athlete who excels both on and off the court.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through December 4. Fan votes will then be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award recipient will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.
Already in the Season Record Book
Leah Edmond’s 380 kills this season is already the eighth-best single-season kill mark in the 25-point rally scoring era. Her .313 season attacking average is the ninth best in a single season.
Madison Lilley’s 1,028 assists this season are already the fifth most in a single season in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Record Crowd
When Kentucky hosted Florida on Nov. 1, the Big Blue Nation showed up in a big way with 5,236 fans in attendance for the top-ranked matchup. The crowd was the third largest in Memorial Coliseum history, and the largest at Memorial in the Craig Skinner era. The Wildcats have had three other matches in front of 5,000 or more people. Kentucky lost the match, 3-0.
14 Straight Wins
UK won 14 straight from Sept. 9 to Oct. 29. 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 was 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.
Efficient Terminator
Senior Emily Franklin leads the team in attacking percentage at .427, 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.
Highest Ranking In the Craig Skinner Era
The Wildcats reached No. 6 in the nation for three weeks between Oct. 16-30. Kentucky coach Craig Skinner had never had the program ranked higher. UK’s highest ranking ever is No. 5, and the Wildcats hadn’t been ranked No. 6 since 1993. The team has been ranked for 110 weeks, and currently has appeared in the poll for 20-consecutive weeks. Kentucky is currently ranked No. 7.
Kentucky in the National and SEC Rankings
Freshman Madison Lilley is No. 8 in the nation in assists per set at 11.82. She leads the SEC, while Rachel Rippee of Arkansas is second.
Leah Edmond is currently No. 17 in the nation in kills per set at 4.37 and second in the SEC, behind the national leader, Pilar Victoria of Arkansas.
Emily Franklin is No. 10 in the nation in hitting percentage at .427. She’s second in the league behind Rachael Kramer of Florida.
As a team, Kentucky is eighth in the nation in hitting percentage at .310. UK is the highest-rated SEC team in that category. UK sits at No. 6 in kills per set at 14.77, 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 (474) and total blocks (531). The senior is also fifth in kills at 920 and ninth in attack attempts at 1,913.
Emily Franklin is currently ninth in block solos with 31, third in blocks assists at 336 and third in total blocks at 367. Franklin also has the fifth-highest attacking percentage in the rally scoring era at .336.
Darian Mack is moving up the 25-point rally scoring era record book in kills and points. Mack is ninth all-time with 777 kills and seventh in attacks with 2,068. In total points, she is in 10th with 884.0.
Ashley Dusek is currently third in the rally scoring era with 1,414 digs and ninth in assists at 231.
Leah Edmond is eighth all-time in kills at 830.
Follow along with the Wildcats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
