Kentucky Defense Too Much for No. 5 Florida in 3-0 Sweep
GAINESVILLE, Fla.
– Since Craig Skinner’s arrival in 2005, the Kentucky volleyball team has
continually captured “firsts” for the program. Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016 will
now serve as another date to remember. The Kentucky Wildcats traveled to
Florida and downed the fifth-ranked Gators (25-17, 25-18, 25-23) in dominating
fashion for the first sweep over Florida for UK since 1990.
Combined with
Kentucky’s 3-1 win in Gainesville, Florida a season ago, Kentucky has knocked
off Florida in back-to-back trips for the first time since the 1987 and 1989
seasons. It’s the second time under Skinner that UK has won in consecutive
meetings. Kentucky won in 2008 at home before taking a road contest in 2009.
Furthermore, it’s also the second-straight year the Cats knocked off the Gators
as a top-five ranked team.
“Our players were focused and
determined to follow the game plan,” Skinner said. “Offensively, we were very
good on the left and as the match went on we got a lot of production out of the
middle as well. We had a very balanced night.”
Balance offensively and another
tremendous defensive effort propelled the Cats to the win. Sophomore setter
Olivia Dailey directed UK’s offense to the tune of 49 kills on .290 hitting.
Kentucky’s most explosive set came in the second frame as Kentucky posted 20
kills on a .471 clip. Dailey dished out 37 assists and added seven digs and a
pair of blocks.
“Olivia did a great job of getting
people involved at the right time and I’m really pleased by the concentration
and determination by our kids to win in a really tough environment on the
road,” Skinner said. “We’ve really bought in to our defensive philosophy.
(Assistant coaches) Lindsey (Walton-Grey) and Anders (Nelson) did a great job
with our serving and defensive plans and our team continues to execute.”
Kentucky’s defense
swallowed up the Gators to the tune of an average of 10 kills per set and a
mere .128 attacking clip. Kentucky had 11 team blocks – seven of which came
from junior Kaz Brown. Junior libero Ashley Dusek picked up a match-high 11
digs to lead UK who accumulated 41 for the night.
Offensively,
freshman Leah Edmond accounted for a match-high 19 kills – just one shy of her
career best. Brown and junior Darian Mack each posted nine, while Emily
Franklin contributed seven. Sophomore Brooke Morgan added five kills and added
six blocks.
Sophomore McKenzie
Watson contributed six digs, while senior Anni Thomasson added four digs in the
winning cause.
The Wildcats
improve to 10-4 on the season and 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play. Florida
falls to 12-2 on the year and 2-1 in league competition. Kentucky will remain
on the road with a matchup at South Carolina on Sunday. The Cats and Gamecocks
will meet at 1 p.m. ET with the match available on the WatchESPN app.
SET RECAPS
Set 1
Kentucky opened
the scoring on a crafty kill from Edmond. She had three kills in UK’s first
four points as the Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. Kentucky’s front-line
frustrated the Gators in the early going and the home team managed just two
kills over the first 10 points scored. A run by Florida allowed the home team
to come to within two at 12-10, but a service error and an Edmond conversion on
a free ball enabled UK to recapture a four-point edge at 14-10. It was all the
more breathing room the Cats would need en route to a dominating 25-17 set win.
The Wildcats logged 12 kills on .114 hitting, but it was their defense that
forced the Gators into a .100 hitting clip and a mere eight kills. UK
registered five blocks, four from Morgan, and 16 digs.
Set 2
Edmond’s seventh kill of the night opens
the second set in the same manner the match began. After UK gained a 2-0
lead, the Gators would tie things quickly at four apiece. Florida earned its
first multi-point advantage of the match at 8-6. Despite an impressive rally
from both sides, Florida earned a 13-9 advantage and the Cats opted for a
timeout. Three-straight kills from Edmond enabled the Cats to pull to within
one at 13-12 forcing Florida into a timeout. Back-to-back blocks allowed the
visitors to keep the rally going and take a 14-13 edge. Franklin came up with
consecutive kills to stretch UK’s lead to 19-15. The Wildcats were powered by a
14-2 run midway through the stanza and they ran with it to a 25-18 win. Florida
was again frustrated offensively by the Cats’ defensive effort as UF managed
just 11 kills. Kentucky posted 20 on a blazing .471 attacking clip.
Set 3
For the first time
in the match, the Gators won the opening point, benefiting from a UK service
error. A kill from Edmond and a block allowed the Cats to tie things at two,
before Florida logged consecutive points to recapture the two-point edge.
Florida maintained its edge for much of the set, but a 5-1 spurt allowed UK to
tie things at 14 all. Following the media timeout, Florida once again took a
two-point advantage. A block from Morgan-Franklin and a kill from Franklin
allowed UK to tie the score at 16 apiece and then Florida was charged with an
illegal attack and the Cats grabbed a lead for the first time in the set.
Kentucky forced Florida into a timeout after Morgan laced one to the middle,
followed by a miscue by the Gators enabled UK to earn a 19-17 edge. Edmond came
out of the break swinging and posted consecutive kills for a 21-17, Kentucky
lead. A couple of miscues allowed the Gators to once again get within two at
21-19. Morgan tooled the block following a UK timeout for a 22-19 edge. A
challenge overturn allowed Florida to get within one at 22-21, but Brown
converted off the slide. UK’s junior middle blocker then posted the match’s
final point with a kill for the 25-23 win. The Wildcats notched 17 kills on
.289 hitting, while once again pestering the Gators defensively. Florida logged
just 11 kills for a match-low .083 hitting clip.
BY THE
NUMBERS
19 – Number
of kills from Lead Edmond, just one shy of matching a career high.
10 – UK
yielded an average of just 10 kills a set and limited the Gators to just a mere
.128 attacking clip. It’s the seventh-straight opponent to be held under .162
for a match.
7 – It’s
UK’s seventh-consecutive victory.
7 – Number
of blocks for junior Kaz Brown. Kentucky had 11 as a team.
1 – The
first time UK has beaten Florida in back-to-back matches in Gainesville since
the 1987 and 1989 seasons.
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on
the web at UKathletics.com.
