Meyer's All-Around Effort Boosts Cats on Wednesday

Kentucky volleyball middle blocker Leah Meyer has had some shining moments in her first year as a Wildcat. But Wednesday night’s match against LSU was probably Meyer’s best all-around effort of the season.

The graduate transfer was all over the court in Wednesday’s match at Memorial Coliseum, and her effort led the Cats to a sweep (25-17, 25-13, 25-21) of the Tigers. Meyer, who came to UK after playing parts of four seasons at Duke, had her best hitting percentage of the season, with nine kills and no errors on 12 swings (.750 percentage).

UK head coach Craig Skinner was pleased with Meyer’s effort in Wednesday’s match.

“She was good today,” Skinner said. “She blocked well. She hit the right shots on the slide behind the setter. Had a couple of random plays at the net that she turned back.”

Meyer got started early with a big first set. She had four kills on just five swings in the frame, while adding two block assists and three digs. In set two, Meyer had three more kills, on just four attacks, with a solo block. And in the third set, Meyer had a pair of kills on three swings and two more block assists.

The Buffalo, New York, native was locked in on Wednesday.

“I felt really comfortable tonight,” she said. “Madison (Lilley) was doing a great job getting the balls back behind her and the passers did a great job of pushing the ball up to the night, so I think overall it was a good night for all of us.”

Meyer has been a key cog for the Cats all season. She is hitting a team-high .397 on the season, which is fourth in the SEC. Her 1.06 blocks per set also leads the team, and is sixth in the conference. But Meyer may have made the most improvement in her game when playing on the back row, both with her serving and her defense. It’s not a role that’s totally foreign to her.

“I did serve some, a couple of years (at Duke), and I didn’t other years,” Meyer said. “Being able to practice that during practice has helped a lot, obviously.”

Meyer hopes that Wednesday’s match can be a springboard for her going forward.

“I think the last couple of games I’ve struggled a little bit with a couple of hitting errors here and there,” Meyer said. “So I think tonight was a good build up for my confidence a little bit.”

Skinner knows that Meyer is an important part of the UK attack, and hopes that she will continue to produce bigger numbers.

“We need to get her going offensively a little bit,” Skinner said. “She hasn’t hit her normal numbers and tonight was a big night for her.”