Shorthanded Cats Put on Dominant Display Wednesday
The Kentucky volleyball team faced a daunting task on Wednesday night. The Cats ventured south to Knoxville, where they would face No. 21 Tennessee.
That No. 21 national ranking was a bit deceiving. The Lady Vols were 16-4 overall and were ranked ninth nationally in the RPI.
Wednesday’s match was also an opportunity for Tennessee to do two things. One, the Lady Vols could get a win against the defending national champion. And two, they could have cut the Cats’ two-game lead in the SEC in half with a victory. So Tennessee was motivated to get the win.
As if that weren’t enough, Kentucky found out earlier in the week that it would be without All-American Madi Skinner, who was injured against Arkansas at the end of last week. Missing a player of Skinner’s caliber would have a huge impact on any team.
With all of these factors working against them, Kentucky went into Knoxville and did the unexpected on Wednesday night. Not only did the shorthanded Cats beat the Lady Vols – UK did so in a sweep.
Kentucky remained unbeaten in the SEC this season by putting together a monster hitting performance. UK had 53 kills and just nine errors on 108 swings. That’s a scorching .407 hitting percentage and it led to a 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 sweep inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Kentucky All-American outside hitter Alli Stumler led the offensive charge with 15 kills and just two errors in 35 attempts (.371) on Wednesday. Stumler added seven digs in the match.
The surprise of the match was UK freshman Erin Lamb, who played in Skinner’s place on Wednesday. Entering Wednesday’s match, Lamb had played in just four matches all season and had just four kills on 16 swings in those matches.
But Lamb more than held her own against a nationally-ranked opponent on Wednesday. In fact, she was outstanding against Tennessee. The 6-3 native of Stewartville, Minnesota, had 12 kills and just one error on 20 swings Wednesday. That equated to a .550 hitting percentage.
Junior Azhani Tealer was her normal self on Wednesday with 11 kills and two errors on 21 swings (.429). Redshirt sophomore Bella Bell continued her strong play with nine kills on 15 swings (.600).
Freshman Emma Grome did an outstanding job of directing the UK offense on Wednesday. Grome had 45 assists in just three sets. Her classmate, libero Eleanor Beavin, had a match-high 14 digs.
It all added up to one of the most complete performances that Kentucky has had this season. One which came at a perfect time for head coach Craig Skinner and his Cats.
