Defensive Effort Leads No. 14 Kentucky Past Ole Miss

Thanks to a stellar defensive team effort Sunday, the No. 14 Kentucky volleyball team picked up a third-straight victory as they swept aside Ole Miss (25-18, 26-24, 25-13) to remain in second place in the Southeastern Conference.

Kentucky held the Rebels to a hitting clip of just .038 on the afternoon as Ole Miss failed to see a player total more than five kills. The Cats limited the Rebels to only 20 terminations to go along with 17 hitting errors through three sets of play. In the third set alone, Kentucky held Ole Miss to a -.062 clip and forced them into nine attacking errors.

As has been the case for much of the year, that defensive effort was quarterbacked by sophomore libero Molly Tuozzo, who picked up a match-high 11 digs. Sunday’s contest marks the 15th-straight game that Tuozzo has recorded ten or more digs. Rounding out the defense on the back line was Emma Grome who finished with nine digs, Asia Thigpen added six, and Eleanor Beavin and Brooklyn DeLeye each had four.

Offensively, DeLeye continued to impress as she found the floor with 17 kills on a .316 clip. While DeLeye was the only Wildcat to eclipse double figures, Grome did a terrific job balancing the offense as four more players finished with six or more kills. Megan Wilson and Thigpen each added nine terminations and Brooke Bultema had six.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. Next up, the Cats will travel to Columbia, South Carolina for a clash with the Gamecocks on Friday evening. First serve is set for 7:00 pm E.T. and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.

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