Edmond, Lilley, Stumler Shine as Cats Top Gators Again
The Kentucky volleyball team knew it would take a very special performance to beat No. 11 Florida in Gainesville. On Sunday, the Cats got that, and more, taking down the Gators in five sets for the second time this season, and clearing a path to a potential third straight SEC title for the Wildcats.
Kentucky (20-6, 13-2 SEC) trailed two sets to one, despite huge efforts from several players. But the Cats did not go away and they kept clawing to stay in the match.
“Just really proud of the heart and guts of this team to fight back under pressure,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “We’ve gone through a lot this week, and as a staff we are really proud of our team for showing so much resilience. The team performance was great, but the point production from Alli Stumler and Leah Edmond is something that Kentucky may not have ever seen before.”
Edmond, UK’s all-time leader in kills, set her single-match career high on Sunday with 30 kills. She’s the first Kentucky player with 30 kills since Anni Thomasson had 30 against LSU in 2013. Not to be overshadowed, Stumler had a career high of her own, knocking down a career best 27 kills to go along with 12 digs. It was the first time in nearly two years that Kentucky had at least two players with 20 kills. Edmond and Avery Skinner had 21 and 20, respectively, against BYU in the Sweet 16 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
On Sunday, Stumler seemed to be everywhere through each of the five sets. She relished the chance to play at Florida.
“We knew that coming into this, obviously it was a really big game for us, knowing that we’ve lost two matches previous to this,” Stumler said. “It’s definitely so cool, being my first time here in Gainesville, I heard that it was a rowdy crowd. Being here for my first time was awesome and obviously winning a game like that is so cool. And just to do it alongside such a great group that is so competitive and so driven is awesome.”
Florida had a match point in the fourth set, but the Cats fought through, eventually taking that set 26-24 and forcing a fifth set. Stumler said the team was prepared for such a situation.
“I think that our team does a great job of keeping our composure,” Stumler said. “That’s something, we do a lot of pressure situations in practice. Our team is just stacked all the way around, so our non-starters push the starting side every day in practice. I really believe that’s what helps us perform in situations like that.”
Junior setter Madison Lilley directed the offense deftly all day long, leading the Cats to a .330 hitting percentage against the SEC’s top blocking team. Lilley had 63 assists, two shy of her career high, but the most assists she has had since her freshman season.
Kentucky won for the fourth straight time in Gainesville, over a five-year span, a tough feat against a Florida team that lost a total of just eight times at home during that same five-year stretch. Sunday’s loss was just the second loss at home for Florida this season.
The Cats now have the inside track to win a third straight SEC regular season championship. Kentucky hosts Missouri on Wednesday, then visits LSU before returning home to host Ole Miss. If the Cats win all three matches, they would claim the title, no matter what Florida does the rest of the way. Having beaten the Gators twice during the regular season, UK would win a tie with Florida, which is 21-4 and 12-2 in the SEC.
Sunday’s match was a showdown between two highly-ranked teams. Kentucky needed, and received, a huge effort to win. And now, the Cats can reap the benefits of another win at Florida.
