No. 25 Kentucky Looks for 10th-Straight Win Against Tennessee

LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Coming off a road sweep of Mississippi State, the No. 25 Kentucky volleyball
team (12-4, 5-0 SEC) looks to continue its winning streak in Memorial Coliseum
against Tennessee (11-7, 1-3 SEC) on Sunday. The contest will be broadcast live
on the ESPNU, and first serve is set for 2:00 p.m.

UK tied a three-set match record with 54 kills in its sweep of Mississippi
State on Friday. Freshman Leah Edmond paced the Wildcats with 19 kills, one off
of her career-high, and hit at a blistering .400 attacking clip. The reigning Southeastern
Conference Player of the Week has double-digit kill numbers in 10-straight
contests and 15-of-16 this season.

In SEC play,
Kentucky is hitting at a .272 attacking percentage, .121 points higher than its
opponents. Two players – juniors Kaz Brown and Emily Franklin – are hitting
above .400. Brown has 55 kills on 99 attempts for a .404 clip, while Franklin
has 40 kills on 45 attempts, good for a .413 attacking clip. Serving has played
a major role in conference games. UK averages 1.59 service aces per set. Sophomore
Olivia Dailey leads the way with nine. Edmond (6), Franklin (4), senior Anni
Thomasson (4), junior Ashley Dusek (3) and sophomore McKenzie Watson (1) have
all registered aces as well.

For more
information, continue below.

Parking Information:

All surrounding
E-lots around Memorial Coliseum including the North Craft lot, Rose Street, and
Linden Walk employee lots are available for event parking beginning three hours
prior to match time. Additionally, the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the
Rose Street Garage (PS#2) are available two hours prior to first serve. Please
see the General Parking Map for more information. 

Disability parking
is available in the North Craft lot. Spaces are limited and provided on a first
come, first served basis with a valid, state-issued disabled parking hangtag.

Please note:
Parking is prohibited in any R-lot. Vehicles parking in R-lots without a proper
permit, along yellow curbs, grass spaces or other non-specified and unapproved
areas may be subject to ticket and/or tow.

For parking maps,
head to the volleyball gameday page located here.

Match Promotions:

The match against
Tennessee is the annual pink match. Anyone wearing pink will get into the
contest for free. Fans will also receive an arm sleeve at the door.

Scouting the Opponent

Tennessee (11-6, 1-3): Tennessee has
one conference win this season, a sweep of Georgia. UT has suffered losses
against Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida. The Volunteers are led
by Tessa Grubbs who averages 3.78 kills per frame while Raina Hembry has the
best attacking clip on the team at .296. On the defensive side, Hembry averages
a team-best 1.04 blocks per frame.

Three-Set Kills Record

During the sweep at
Mississippi State, Kentucky tied its three-set kills record in the 25-point
rally scoring era with 54 in the contest. Freshman Leah Edmond had 19, while
junior Kaz Brown joined the double-digit club with 10 of her own. Emily
Franklin produced eight kills while hitting a team-best .462. UK hit .368 as a
team during the contest, its second-highest team attacking clip of the season.

Dailey Earns Honors in Two-Straight Weeks

Sophomore setter
Olivia Dailey was named SEC Setter of the Week and FloVolleyball National
Player of the Week for her performance against No. 5 Florida and South
Carolina. Previously, Dailey was named SEC Player of the Week.

Edmond Named SEC Player of the Week

Freshman Leah
Edmond was named SEC Player of the Week after leading the team in kills in wins
over No. 5 Florida and South Carolina. Edmond had 19 kills, one off her
career-high, in the upset victory over the Gators. The Lexington, Kentucky
native was also named Freshman of the Week for the third-time this season.

Back in the Polls

For the third week
this year, Kentucky finds itself in the AVCA Coaches’ poll. The Wildcats
received 64 points, good enough for No. 25. UK was previously ranked No. 23 on
Aug. 29 and this week marks the 92nd time head coach Craig Skinner has been
ranked in the poll. The first RPI poll also came out on Oct. 3 and the Wildcats
found themselves in the No. 18 spot.

Third-Set Comeback

After going down
21-16 in the third set to South Carolina, Kentucky fought back to win the
crucial set, 32-30. UK tied the frame at 24-24 with a kill by Emily Franklin,
the game went back-and-forth until the set was tied at 30-30. Kills by Anni
Thomasson and Brooke Morgan, both assisted by Olivia Dailey, allowed the
Wildcats to win the set. UK won the match 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 32-30, 25-19).

Double-Digit Digs

Junior libero
Ashley Dusek has produced double-digit dig numbers in every contest this season
for the Wildcats except one. Dusek has picked up 20 or more in three separate
matches (Mississippi State, Marquette and Wyoming). The East Bernard, Texas
native’s season-high is 27 against Mississippi State and she averages 4.52 digs
per set.

Double-Digit Kills

Freshman outside
hitter Leah Edmond has contributed double-digit kill totals in every contest
except one this season. Edmond has produced 15 double-digit performances,
including every SEC match this season. The Lexington, Kentucky, native has hit
15+ five times, including 19 in wins over No. 5 Florida and Mississippi State.