Volleyball Cats Continue Dominant Streak on Sunday
The Kentucky volleyball team continued its dominant stretch of play on Sunday, sweeping LSU (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
The Cats have now won seven matches in a row, making their way to the top of the Southeastern Conference standings in the process. UK head coach likes how his team continues to find ways to win.
“I think some teams are really good offensively, some teams are really good defensively. I think we’ve found a rhythm of being able to do both so if one of them isn’t sharp, we can rely on the other,” Skinner said. “Great teams have the ability to win in a lot of different ways. So, I think we’re finding more ways to win, other than making sure we get enough kills. We’re taking kills away from them and lessening the opportunities they have offensively. I think it’s a balance of a lot of different things.”
How good has UK been during the winning streak? The numbers are staggering. In the seven matches, Kentucky has won 21 sets, while opponents have won just one. UK has swept its last six matches.
The statistics show an even bigger domination. Kentucky is hitting .285 in the last seven matches, compared to just .145 for opponents. UK is averaging 15.14 kills per set, while opponents are averaging 9.68.
During the streak, UK averaging 14.5 assists per set, compared to just 8.95 for opponents. The Cats are averaging 13.45 digs per set, while the opposition is averaging 12.09. The Cats have 43 service aces, compared to just 19 for opponents. The serving numbers are especially important to the Cats’ plans, according to Skinner.
“Our serving continues to get better and better the last couple of weeks,” Skinner said. “Having nine aces in a three-set match is a nice place to start. The serving pressure just makes teams doubt what they’re doing offensively. Defensive pressure and making teams feel like they don’t have their normal repertoire of offense as well.”
Kentucky’s duo of Brooklyn DeLeye and Asia Thigpen have combined for 196 kills in the last seven matches. Opponents, in total, have 213 kills in those seven matches. Skinner knows that the 2024 Cats are living up to a standard that has been set during his tenure in Lexington.
“That there’s a standard in the program that we want to live up to,” Skinner said. “Our teams in the past have set that standard of excellence. It’s not just about the ‘W’ after the match, it’s what we did within the first and last whistle to live up to that standard. We want to try to be great, we don’t want to be just another team. We’re living to a standard that’s been set over the last 20 years. I think this team is starting to embrace that.”
During the current seven-match winning streak, the Cats have lived up to that standard. Winning an eighth consecutive SEC championship is within reach for this team, especially if they continue to play the way they have over the last five weeks.
