Edmond Looking to Build on Already Impressive Resume

Leah Edmond has racked up some impressive accolades in her first two seasons with the Kentucky volleyball program. How good has she been through two seasons? Her head coach realizes that she is truly special.

“She’s probably the most dynamic point-scorer we’ve had, consistently,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said. “Match in, match out, you can expect Leah to score points for you. The sky is the limit. She will dictate where she ends up as a player.”

The numbers do not lie. Edmond has 989 kills in two seasons as a Wildcat. That places her fourth on UK’s career list during the rally scoring era. Her 539 kills last season were the most by any UK player in a single season in that same era, and the fourth-highest total in any season by a Wildcat. If she stays near her production of the first two seasons, she will eclipse the rally scoring era record for kills this season (1,393 by Whitney Billings).

For individual matches, Edmond holds the UK rally scoring era record for kills in a three-set match (21 vs. Arkansas in 2017) and four sets (26 vs. Marquette in 2017).

Edmond, who played overseas with the U.S. Collegiate National Team this summer, does not focus on the numbers, she simply plays the game.

“I just play and when it happens, I think it’s cool,” Edmond said. “I usually find out after a match anyway.”

And while her career thus far has been very impressive, Skinner knows that there’s room for improvement.

“Continue to polish her all-around skills and take the little things as serious as she does point-scoring,” Skinner said. “She has started to do that this preseason. We have seen an attention to detail that we have not seen before. I think that focus will help to match the little things to her physical talents.”

Edmond’s teammates appreciate her abilities, but also admire her positive attitude and attention to detail.

“I think her attitude is so even keeled, especially from someone who is the leader in kills,” sophomore Gabby Curry said. “She’s not emotionally up and down, so it’s easy to play with her. She’s obviously amazing and gets a lot of kills, but she also  does the little things as well.”

Edmond hopes that her personal goals will help make her even better during her junior season.

“(Being) All-SEC and being All-American and things like that are always what I’m reaching toward,” Edmond said. “Having those types of goals make me better each day.”

As she continues to get better every day, Edmond’s assault on the UK record book is sure to continue.