No. 23 Kentucky Continues SEC Play With Two Home Matches
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Coming off two Southeastern Conference
sweeps of Mississippi State and Tennessee,
No. 23 Kentucky (13-4, 6-0 SEC) looks to continue its winning ways in
Memorial Coliseum against Arkansas (3-14, 1-4 SEC) on Friday and Ole Miss
(12-6, 1-4 SEC) on Sunday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. for the Friday match
and 1:30 p.m. for the Sunday match. Both games will be broadcast live on the SEC
Network+ and the WatchESPN App with Dick Gabriel and Kathy DeBoer on the call.
After another weekend sweep, sophomore Olivia Dailey and
freshman Leah Edmond earned SEC honors for their performances. Dailey was named
SEC Setter of the Week for the third-straight week. During that span the
Trussville, Alabama, native produced 258 assists, helping the Wildcats hit at a
.280 attacking clip with 313 kills during her award-winning stretch and is
currently seventh in the country in assists per set at 11.52.
Edmond continued to rack up kills last weekend while
earning her fourth SEC Freshman of the Week award. She helped UK tie a 25-point
rally scoring era three-set record of 54 kills, leading the way with 19. The
Lexington, Kentucky, native hit at a blistering .403 last weekend with 33 kills
while tossing in eight digs.
Kentucky currently holds a 10-match winning streak, and
has only dropped two sets during that span.
For more information, continue below.
Match
Promotions
Friday’s match against Arkansas will be free for all in
attendance. Sunday’s match against Ole Miss will be alumni day. As part of the
weekend’s events, former Wildcats that return to Lexington will be honored
during the match.
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.
Scouting the
Opponent
Arkansas (3-14,
1-4 SEC): First-year head coach Jason
Watson and his squad have picked up one win in the SEC this season, a 3-0 victory
at LSU. The Razorbacks coaching staff features former Wildcat Sarah Rumely, who
was a two-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year. Arkansas is led on
offense by Danielle Harbin, who averages 4.00 kills per set. Two players are
tied for the blocking lead on the defensive side with Ana Sofia Jusino and
Brenana Jones averaging 0.92 blocks per set.
Ole Miss (12-6,
1-4 SEC): Ole Miss has one win so far in
conference play, a five-set match over Arkansas. The Rebels average 13.0 kills
per set, led by Kate Gibson with 3.72 kills per frame. Lexi Thompson follows
closely behind with 3.15 kills per frame. Aubrey Edie facilitates the Rebel
offense with 10.51 assists per set.
Dailey Earns
Honors in Three-Straight Weeks
Sophomore setter Olivia Dailey was named SEC Setter of
the Week for the third-consecutive week after producing a combined 81 assists
against Mississippi State and Tennessee. Dailey had 41 assists in the win over
Mississippi State, three away from the 25-point rally scoring era three-set
record. Dailey followed that performance with another 40 assists against
Tennessee. Dailey ranks second in the SEC and the seventh in the country in
assists per set at 11.52.
Edmond Named
SEC Freshman of the Week (Again)
Freshman Leah Edmond earned SEC Freshman of the Week
honors for the fourth time this season after racking up 33 kills in wins over
Mississippi State and Tennessee. Edmond accounted for 19 kills, one off her
career-high, for the second-time in two weeks in the win over the Bulldogs.
Three-Set
25-Point Rally Era Kills Record
Kentucky tied the school three-set 25-point rally era
kills record with 54 in the victory at Mississippi State. Leah Edmond led the
way with 19 kills, while Kaz Brown followed with eight of her own. Emily
Franklin (8), Brooke Morgan (6), Darian Mack (5) Anni Thomasson (4) and Olivia
Dailey (2) all picked up kills in the record night.
Top-25
Kentucky is nationally ranked for the second-straight
week. After busting back into the AVCA Coaches Poll at No. 25 last week, the
Wildcats picked up 199 points and moved up to No. 23. This week marks the 93rd
week head coach Craig Skinner has led the Wildcats to a national ranking.
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 4.43 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 16 double-digit performances, including every SEC match this season.
The Lexington, Kentucky, native has hit 15+ five times, including 19 in the win
over No. 5 Florida and Mississippi State.
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on
the web at UKathletics.com.
