No. 24 Kentucky Wraps Up Week at Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 24 Kentucky (19-6, 11-2 SEC)
volleyball team will look for its 20th win of the season at Ole Miss on Sunday
in the Gillom Sports Center. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. ET and can be
seen live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
Head coach Craig Skinner and the Wildcats will be looking
to clinch their ninth 20-win season in 10 years and sixth 20-win season in a
row. Skinner has guided the Wildcats to an NCAA tournament berth every season
he has been at the helm. Only 10 other schools in the nation have advanced to
the NCAA tournament during each of the last 11 seasons.
Kentucky has already faced the Rebels once this season,
and the Wildcats picked up a sweep. Sophomore Olivia Dailey facilitated the
offense with 46 assists and helped UK hit at a .352 attacking clip. Freshman
Leah Edmond paced the Wildcats with 13 kills on 28 swings, and also tossed in
eight digs during the win.
Earlier this week, Kentucky picked up a 3-0 sweep of
Arkansas. Edmond earned her seventh double-double of the season with a
team-best 18 kills and 10 digs during the win. The Wildcats got the blocking
back on track, and junior Kaz Brown produced a team-best seven block assists,
and the squad generated 11.0 blocks overall. Kentucky also swept the Razorbacks
in the first meeting between the two teams this season.
For more information, continue below.
Scouting the Opponent
Ole Miss (14-11, 3-9 SEC): Ole Miss came to Memorial Coliseum last month and were
swept by the Wildcats. The team hit .352, with Olivia Dailey facilitating the
offense with 46 assists. The Rebels are led by Kate Gibson, who averages 3.56
kills per set. Lexi Thompson is an all-around player for the Rebels as she
leads the team in digs per set at 3.03 and aces per set at 0.21.
Aces Record
Senior Anni Thomasson set the
25-point rally scoring era service ace record when she recorded a service ace
against Arkansas on Wednesday. Thomasson broke the previous record of 98, held
by three-time AVCA All-American Whitney Billings.
1,000 Dig Club
Two Wildcats joined the 1,000 dig
club last weekend. Junior libero Ashley Dusek joined during the five-set
thriller against Auburn. Dusek racked up 27 digs, tying her season best during
the win, and sits at fifth in the 25-point rally era school history with 1,039
digs. Senior Anni Thomassson joined Dusek on Sunday in the match against
Missouri. Thomasson picked up 11 digs, vaulting her over the mark. The Newark,
Ohio native sits at 1,007 career digs, just behind Dusek for sixth in the
school 25-point rally era.
Comeback at Auburn
The Wildcats were pushed to the
limit against Auburn last Friday, but were able to survive in the five-set
match. No set was won by more than three, and there were 57 lead changes and 24
tie scores during the contest. Freshman Leah Edmond led the way with 20 kills,
and picked up her seventh double-double of the season when she added 12 digs.
Dailey Sixth in Country in Assists
Heading into the weekend,
sophomore setter Olivia Dailey sat at No. 6 in the nation in assists per set at
11.58, which is good enough for second in the SEC. The three-time SEC setter of
the week had 45 assists in the win over Auburn last week and has since upped
her tally to 11.71 assists per set.
Dusek Named Academic
All-District
Junior Ashley Dusek was named
CoSIDA Academic All-District for her performance on the floor and in the
classroom. Dusek is an integrated strategic communications major and currently
holds a 3.50 GPA. On the court, Dusek is leading the team in digs at 4.76 per
set.
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the web at UKathletics.com
