Potent Offense Continues to Power UK Volleyball

The Kentucky volleyball team has been impressive on offense throughout the 2017 season. The Wildcats entered Sunday’s match against LSU hitting .315 as a team, good for sixth in the nation. If Kentucky can maintain the same pace throughout the season, the 2017 Wildcats would crush the school record for hitting percentage in a season, which was set when the 1987 Cats hit .300 as a team.

On Sunday, the Wildcats’ powerful offense was on display again as the 10th-ranked Wildcats swept SEC rival LSU 25-22, 25-16, 25-13 in Memorial Coliseum. 

For Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner, it was the consistent effort on Sunday that stood out.

“Just pleased we sustained it throughout the match,” Skinner said. “Hitting that type of number throughout an entire match is good. Zero hitting errors in the third set is an impressive stat, so a lot of credit to Madison (Lilley) for distributing the ball to the right people at the right time and credit our hitter for hitting the right shots.

Kentucky hit .524 as a team, with 49 kills and just six errors in 82 attacks. That .524 hitting clip was just short of the school record of .552 set in 1986.

This year’s Wildcats know that their balance is what makes them dangerous.

“I think having so many different options gives us a lot of room to hit hard and get single people up,” said senior Darian Mack, who had nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage on Sunday. “I think it really confuses people and works well for us.”

Sophomore Leah Edmond, who had 10 kills on Sunday, agrees with Mack.

“Just so many, just endless options,” Edmond said of the UK offense. “You can go front row or back row. And kudos to (Lilley), she gets up great balls so leaves defenses wondering where the balls going.” 

Senior Kaz Brown had a career day in Sunday’s match, with nine kills and no errors in 11 attacks for a career-best .818 hitting percentage. Brown continues to develop chemistry with her freshman setter.

“The connection with Madison (Lilley) and I is getting better every time we play, so that’s a big factor,” Brown said of her chemistry with the UK setter. “We were passing really well, so I have to give a lot of credit to our back row players because when they pass the ball well, we have every option and our offense is really efficient. They did an awesome job today.”

The balance and the efficiency on offense has boosted Kentucky to a 11-2 start, including a 2-0 mark in SEC play. Brown hopes the memory of how last season ended will continue to motivate this year’s squad.

“It’s really good for us, especially after losing to Tennessee last year and missing that SEC championship,” Brown said. “I think that’s in the back of our minds still. People are feeling like this is the year, so we’re really going after it and kind of giving it our all every match we can.”

And that effort has been evident in UK’s offensive performance so far this season.