Azhani Tealer and Emma Grome Snag Final SEC Weekly Awards

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Azhani Tealer was named the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week and Emma Grome won the SEC Setter of the Week title for the seventh time of the season, the league office announced Monday afternoon.

Kentucky swept South Carolina twice over the weekend to secure its sixth-consecutive SEC championship.

Grome, a sophomore from Loveland, Ohio, had 30+ assists in both matches and guided UK to a .323 hitting percentage as Kentucky swept South Carolina twice en route to an SEC Championship. Grome averaged 12.33 assists per set, and also contributed four digs, three aces and two blocks on the week.

Tealer, a senior middle blocker from Grand Prairie, Texas, averaged 2.50 blocks per set in the series sweep over South Carolina. In Friday’s match, Tealer set the Kentucky school record with 13 blocks, the most for a single match regardless of sets played, hit .429 to lead all UK players, and averaged a team-best 3.83 kills per set. On Saturday, her 16 kills came on just 25 swings as she hit .520 for the match that clinched the SEC Championship for Kentucky.

For the 18th time in 18 years under head coach Craig Skinner, the University of Kentucky volleyball team was selected to compete in the NCAA Volleyball Championship, as announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday night.

Kentucky earned the No. 12 overall national seed and will be a host site for the first and second rounds this weekend in Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. Joining UK in Lexington will be Western Kentucky, Bowling Green and Loyola-Chicago.

All-session tickets for the NCAA Lexington Sub-Regional will go on-sale through UKathletics.com and the UK Ticket Office on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. ET. Kentucky season ticket holders will get priority when purchasing tickets Monday morning at 9 a.m. ET before general tickets go on-sale to the public Tuesday morning. The cost is $12 for reserved single-match tickets and $10 for single-match general admission tickets. Fans can purchase $18 tickets for all-session reserved seating and $15 tickets for all-session general admission seats. Tickets for UK students will be free with a valid UK ID upon entry to the Coliseum. There is a group rate (15 members+) that is $5 per person in general admission seating.

Fans are highly encouraged to buy tickets ahead of time to avoid lines when entering the arena.

SEC Volleyball Awards – Week 14

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