Freshmen Come Up Huge in UK Semifinal Win Over Wisconsin

As Kentucky went into the fifth set of the 2025 NCAA Volleyball national semifinals on Thursday night, everyone in the building knew that the Cats would lean heavily on All-American outside hitters Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson.

What those watching would not have expected is that a pair of freshmen, including one non-starter, would play such a huge role for UK.

With the fifth set tied 1-1, freshman defensive specialist Trinity Ward went to the service line. And by the time she was done, Kentucky had a lead that it would never relinquish.

Ward, who hails from Louisville, started her service run with an ace. She continued to put pressure on the Badgers from the service line as the Cats ran off five consecutive points to take a 6-1 lead. UK head coach Craig Skinner knew that Ward was ready for the moment.

“To have the guts to go back there like Trinity did at the beginning of that fifth set serve not just balls in the court, but tough serves, to impact the match, takes an incredible amount of confidence,” Skinner said. “But she’s prepared herself for this moment. That pressure is nothing compared to life pressure. She has overcome a lot to get herself in that moment. She showed how tough she was.”

Junior libero Molly Tuozzo admired what Ward did, but was not surprised.

“Craig always tells us in practice every single day to serve like you’re serving in a national championship. Just trusting that, putting yourself in the game,” Tuozzo said. “I think (Ward) works really hard in practice about sticking serves on us and making us better. I think that just, like, made her ready for today.”

After Wisconsin stopped the run, freshman setter Kassie O’Brien, the national Freshman of the Year, scored on a perfectly timed dump over the net, showing the confidence of a veteran in a high-pressure situation. Skinner liked how O’Brien, who had 54 assists, performed on the sport’s biggest stage.

“Kassie was on the run a lot tonight. She had to run down a lot of serve-receive balls,” Skinner said. “She was pretty tired throughout the match. For her to keep her composure and execute in the fifth set again says a lot about her resiliency. Nothing really fazes her. She’s ready for the next point every single time.”

Junior All-American Brooklyn DeLeye was proud of her freshmen teammates.

“Talking about the freshmen, it’s the biggest stage in college sport. We knew the nerves would be there,” she said. “None of us have ever been there. I’m just super proud of the way that they came out.”

Just when Kentucky needed them most, two freshmen stood tall on college volleyball’s grandest stage, getting the Cats to Sunday’s title game.