Kentucky Volleyball Dominates Vanderbilt Behind Stellar Defense and Improving Offense
Wildcats deliver a swept win as team statistics steadily improve across all facets of play
The University of Kentucky’s volleyball team delivered a commanding performance in Friday’s sweep of Vanderbilt, showcasing both defensive resolve and offensive efficiency.
The Wildcats held Vanderbilt to a hitting percentage of just .108, while improving their own offensive output from .237 in the first set to .441 in the third.
From the opening frame, UK’s defence set the tone with 22 digs, eight of them by libero Molly Tuozzo.
“Defensively, just really good tonight,” said head coach Craig Skinner.
“Smothering most of the night.
If we weren’t touching their swings with our block, our defence was picking up in the back row, so very pleased with that.” Tuozzo credited careful preparation and situational scouting: “I think just trusting the scout,” she said.
“They hit a lot of shots to me so that made it kind of easy.”
On the offensive side, junior Brooklyn DeLeye noted the team’s objective was to reward the defensive effort: “It’s pretty easy when you have girls like Molly Tuozzo digging balls, so we just wanted to show our defence that they weren’t doing it for nothing.
We needed to put balls away since they were doing their jobs.” Coach Skinner praised the steady progress: “Our offence kept getting better as the match went on.
To hit .350 and hold an SEC opponent to .108 was very pleasing.”
Looking ahead, the Wildcats are set to face Texas on Sunday for the Southeastern Conference lead.
“I think it’s going to be an emotional game,” Tuozzo said.
“It’s going to be a really hard game and we’re good at winning the ugly, so I think there’s going to be a lot of long rallies in that match.
We’ve been preparing this entire SEC run, so we’re excited.” Skinner added: “We have to go for it.
I know our players are looking forward to the challenge and it will be back and forth all night.”
The match also marked a return to Lexington for Vanderbilt’s former Kentucky associate head coach Anders Nelson and All-American Azhani Tealer.
Coach Skinner reflected on their contributions: “Proud every time we’ve played against a team that has someone that’s spent time in this program.
It says a lot about the growth of the game and what we’ve been able to do to help the sport.” He noted that Nelson and Tealer’s legacies within the programme remain “immeasurable” and said he hopes they carry a piece of the Wildcats’ culture with them wherever they go.
The Wildcats held Vanderbilt to a hitting percentage of just .108, while improving their own offensive output from .237 in the first set to .441 in the third.
From the opening frame, UK’s defence set the tone with 22 digs, eight of them by libero Molly Tuozzo.
“Defensively, just really good tonight,” said head coach Craig Skinner.
“Smothering most of the night.
If we weren’t touching their swings with our block, our defence was picking up in the back row, so very pleased with that.” Tuozzo credited careful preparation and situational scouting: “I think just trusting the scout,” she said.
“They hit a lot of shots to me so that made it kind of easy.”
On the offensive side, junior Brooklyn DeLeye noted the team’s objective was to reward the defensive effort: “It’s pretty easy when you have girls like Molly Tuozzo digging balls, so we just wanted to show our defence that they weren’t doing it for nothing.
We needed to put balls away since they were doing their jobs.” Coach Skinner praised the steady progress: “Our offence kept getting better as the match went on.
To hit .350 and hold an SEC opponent to .108 was very pleasing.”
Looking ahead, the Wildcats are set to face Texas on Sunday for the Southeastern Conference lead.
“I think it’s going to be an emotional game,” Tuozzo said.
“It’s going to be a really hard game and we’re good at winning the ugly, so I think there’s going to be a lot of long rallies in that match.
We’ve been preparing this entire SEC run, so we’re excited.” Skinner added: “We have to go for it.
I know our players are looking forward to the challenge and it will be back and forth all night.”
The match also marked a return to Lexington for Vanderbilt’s former Kentucky associate head coach Anders Nelson and All-American Azhani Tealer.
Coach Skinner reflected on their contributions: “Proud every time we’ve played against a team that has someone that’s spent time in this program.
It says a lot about the growth of the game and what we’ve been able to do to help the sport.” He noted that Nelson and Tealer’s legacies within the programme remain “immeasurable” and said he hopes they carry a piece of the Wildcats’ culture with them wherever they go.
