Steady Lilley Leads Saturday Rally

On a night when she was honored prior to the game as Kentucky’s all-time leader in assists during the rally scoring era, Madison Lilley showed exactly how she got to that elite status.

Lilley had 48 assists on Kentucky’s 58 kills as the Cats rallied from dropping the first set to beat Tennessee in four sets, 24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 25-13.

After starting slowly, Kentucky rebounded to hit .275 as a team for the match. Four Wildcats had at least seven kills in the match as the offense clicked with Lilley running the show.

Lilley is happy to have her classmate Avery Skinner back playing at a high level. The chemistry between those two players, which started when both were freshmen, is unmistakable.

“I can set a ball just about anywhere and she can go get it,” Lilley said of Skinner.

In Saturday’s match, Skinner had a career-high 21 kills, almost all on sets from Lilley, passing her previous mark of 20 that was set against BYU in the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

Freshman Elise Goetzinger, who got her first career start on Saturday night after a big effort in Friday’s match, takes comfort in playing with a player as talented and experienced as Lilley.

“I have looked up to her for a long time,” Goetzinger said after Saturday’s match. “She puts us in a good position all the time.”

But it wasn’t just on the offensive side where Lilley stood out on Saturday night. Her defense was outstanding as well. The senior led Kentucky with 15 digs on the night. She added a solo block and two block assists.

“That’s all credited to the scouting report,” Lilley said. “We knew what they were going to do and how to read it.”

Goetzinger also noted that Lilley is the person who motivates the rest of the team when it’s needed.

And why not. Lilley is a player who has been named second-team All-American in all three of her seasons at Kentucky. And, after passing Morgan Bergren for the rally-scoring era assists mark late last season, Lilley continues to add to her total, even though that’s not how she prefers to be remembered.

“Stats are stats, numbers are numbers but that’s not really the legacy that I strive to leave,” Lilley said. “It’s a lot more about the right kind of leadership, the right kind of inspiration, what kind of teammate I am.”

Her teammates note that Lilley has led Kentucky to three straight Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight as a freshman in 2017.

It was Madison Lilley’s night in Memorial Coliseum and she lived up to the hype, as she has done ever since her arrival on the UK campus.