Resilient Cats Overcome Adversity to Beat Cards

The sixth-ranked Kentucky volleyball team faced quite a bit of adversity on Thursday night. Not only were the Cats visiting third-ranked Louisville, but the Cats found other obstacles as the match moved on.

The Cats were able to overcome all of the adversity, in addition to a hostile crowd at the KFC Yum! Center, to claim a five-set win over their archrivals.

UK head coach Craig Skinner liked how his team played defensively in Thursday’s win, holding Louisville under 50 kills and registering 87 digs.

“Defensively, we haven’t played like that in a long time,” Skinner said. “To hold a team like Louisville to 47 kills in a five-set match is pretty impressive.”

The match was tight early in the first set before Louisville went on a 7-2 run to take a commanding lead. The Cats would fight back but the Cards won the first set 25-21.

Kentucky’s coaching staff started Asia Thigpen, but the UK staff realized they needed more size, so they turned to Jordyn Dailey. Skinner was proud of Dailey’s readiness in the match.

“Jordan came in because we needed a bigger blocking presence,” Skinner said. “Then she came through offensively in key moments.”

Facing adversity for the first time, the Cats fought back behind junior All-American Brooklyn DeLeye. The Topeka, Kansas, native had five kills in the second set alone as UK bounced back to win set three 25-21.

Set three was tight throughout, but the Cards were able to win it 26-24. Kentucky would face more adversity, needing to win the final two sets to snap a four-match losing streak to the Cards.

UK’s other All-American outside hitter, Eva Hudson, was not herself early in the match, leaving DeLeye, Brooke Bultema and Lizzie Carr to carry much of the offense. But in the final two sets, Hudson came alive.

In the fourth set, Hudson caught fire. She registered five of her 17 kills in the fourth set alone as the Cats evened the match by winning the set 25-12.

However, it wasn’t all good news in the fourth set for the Cats. Starting setter Kassie O’Brien was suffering from cramps and was forced to leave the match. Backup setter Ava Sarafa subbed in for O’Brien and the UK offense did not miss a beat.

Sarafa, the redshirt sophomore, was outstanding in the final two sets directing the UK offense. She registered 25 assists, including 11 in the fifth set which Kentucky won 15-7 to claim the match. Skinner liked how Sarafa answered the call against the Cards.

“People like Ava coming off the bench made a huge difference in a match where we needed the bench,” he said.

The other bit of adversity that UK overcame on Thursday was taking past experiences and turning those into winning moments while under pressure, something that hasn’t been the case a couple of times this season.

“We did not execute late in sets against Nebraska, we didn’t execute in a couple of sets against Pittsburgh,” Skinner said. “You can’t teach how pressure feels. Our players are getting more comfortable in those moments and know they belong. We did a really good job of making plays when we needed to.”

Overcoming adversity, on the road against a top-five opponent, earned the Cats a big win on Thursday night.