No Gaerte? No Problem for No. 3 Volleyball Cats
The third-ranked Kentucky volleyball team faced a tough battle on Sunday, with No. 7 Texas coming to Historic Memorial Coliseum. And, to make it even tougher, UK had to play the match without All-American Morgan Gaerte, who was out due to injury.
UK head coach Craig Skinner was forced to make a change in the Cats’ rotation on Sunday, and it worked out very well as Kentucky swept Texas in the Southeastern Conference showdown. Skinner knows his team has stepped up previously in similar situations.
“I think our team has risen to challenges so far this season,” Skinner said. “Today’s challenge was a new lineup.”
Skinner knew that someone would have to step up.
“In team sports, people rise to the occasion and our team rose to the occasion today against a great team,” Skinner said. “Just resilient. Proud of the way we fought and got it done in multiple different ways.”
There’s no replacing an All-American with one player, so the entire UK team had to pick up the slack against the Longhorns.
“It takes a team effort like that,” Skinner said. “When a player is out, everyone has to give a little bit more. And whether it’s a kill on the right side of the net or make a play defensively, there are multiple ways to win volleyball games.”
And that’s exactly what happened. Asia Thigpen led the Cats with 15 kills, while Georgia Watson, starting in place of Gaerte, had nine kills and hit .438. Watson knew that she and her teammates would be up to the challenge.
“When (Gaerte) got hurt, we knew that it was going to change our starting lineup,” Watson said. “But I think that’s why we work so hard in practice. Just knowing that we have the depth of a bench to put in. It sucks to not have her on the court, but we always have people who can step up. Asia killed it today. I think Brooklyn killed it today. Everyone played their part and that’s what’s important, especially when someone, that big of a player, is out.”
In addition to Thigpen, the Cats got key contributions from Brooklyn DeLeye, who had 11 kills, and Lizzie Carr who had eight kills and hit .438.
Skinner was impressed with UK’s offensive performance on Sunday, but he thought it was the defense that carried the team early. He likes how the Cats are looking on the defensive side of the net.
“We don’t really have a weakness defensively in any spot,” Skinner said. “Sometimes, you have a weak spot in back row defense. I don’t feel like we have a weak spot in any position. We don’t need to hide anybody.”
Playing without their All-American opposite hitter against a Top-10 team on Sunday, the Cats showed their talent, their depth and their defense in a sweep of No. 7 Texas.
