LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Avery Skinner had 14 kills and sophomore Leah Edmond added 11 as Kentucky beat East Tennessee State 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 on Friday night in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Volleyball Tournament at Memorial Coliseum.

Freshman setter Madison Lilley had 39 assists, four block assists and three digs for the Wildcats, while senior Kaz Brown had six kills and a .417 hitting percentage.
Kentucky (27-3) got 12 digs from senior Ashley Dusek, the SEC libero of the year.

The first set was tied 5-5 before Kentucky went on a 7-0 run to expand the lead. The Wildcats would lead by as many as seven points before winning the set 25-19. Edmond paced Kentucky’s offensive attack with seven kills, while Skinner added four. Lilley had 14 assists and three block assists in the set while leading the Wildcats to a .556 hitting percentage.

Kentucky grabbed a 4-1 lead early in the second set and stretched it to 14-8. But ETSU would rally, eventually cutting Kentucky’s lead to 18-17. However, the Wildcats had the answer, winning seven of the last 10 points in the set to win 25-20 and to go up 2-0.

ETSU grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the third set behind a pair of service aces from Alyssa Kvarta. The Buccaneers would extend the lead to 10-5 before Kentucky mounted its comeback. The Wildcats scored six of the next seven points to tie the set at 11 apiece. Kentucky grabbed its first lead of the set at 13-12 on a kill by Kaz Brown. The Wildcats would never trail again, eventually winning the set 25-21.

East Tennessee State (19-12) was led by Leah Clayton, who had eight kills in the match.

Kentucky advances to Saturday’s second round, where the Wildcats will meet Western Kentucky. First set from Memorial Coliseum will be at 7 p.m. ET.