Kentucky players celebrated with fans after beating Florida in five sets Sunday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Just a few hours after the NCAA Division I volleyball committee announced that Kentucky would be one of its top four seeds if the NCAA tourney started Sunday, the Cats were on the verge of losing their first Southeastern Conference match and having a 10-game win streak snapped.
Florida rallied after dropping the first set 25-16 to beat No. 3 Kentucky 25-21 and 25-19 in the next two sets. However, rather than panic coach Craig Skinner made some personnel changes and the Cats leaned on experience from an earlier comeback win over Louisville to secure the win.
Kentucky took the fourth set 25-21 and then dominated the final set to win 15-6.
“We’ve been here before, we can do this,” senior Eva Hudson, who had 21 kills and 13 digs, said. “I think especially in our (pre-conference) really hard matches have really helped us to be able to do well in fifth sets.”
Skinner said there is “non way to script” how a match might go.
“You don’t really know what it feels like until you’re going through it. We needed to feel what that was like. At some point, you can flip it, you just have to have some patience and weather the storm. Those experiences are really important, just like today’s,” the Kentucky coach said.
All-American junior Brooklyn DeLeye had 20 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. It was the second time DeLeye and Hudson, a Purdue transfer, had both gone for 20 or more kills in the same match. The first time was the five-set win at Louisville.
Kentucky hit .201 in the match with 57 kills and held the Gators to .120 hitting. Florida is only 10-7 overall and 5-3 in SEC play However, the Gators beat Pittsburgh, the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA projections, and have wins over top 25 teams Missouri and Tennessee.
“I know last year this team was really bad in five-set matches, so it’s really cool that we respond this year,” DeLeye said. “You know it’s going to be a grind the entire match. So who can find more energy in that last set and who can be more connected on the court (will win).”
Skinner said he was proud of his team’s “resiliency” against Florida. Kentucky trailed in the fifth set after consecutive kills by Hudson to open the set. DeLeye had three kills late in the set and both Kassie O’Brien and Molly Berezowitz had service aces. The Gators also made attack errors they did not make in sets two and three.
DeLeye credited Florida’s play for disrupting UK in sets two and three.
“Florida did a great job adapting to our shot selection,” DeLeye said. “They were not letting any balls hit the floor (the Gators had four players with 10 or more digs). They really came prepared and you could tell that their scouting report was spot on. We just had to make changes. I think we made that a little too late, but at the right time in the fourth and fifth sets.”
It helped that DeLeye got her attacking game back in sync after some misfires early.
“I just needed to be better with my shot selection. I kept swinging away the entire game and knew the people around me were going to have my back on coverages just telling me what was open,” DeLeye said. “I knew that I could just go up there and be myself and really have no fear about making mistakes affect me.”
Kentucky also got a boost from a season-high crowd of 4,394 fans who got to see freshman setter Kassie O’Brien record 42 assists, 10 digs and four blocks despite being taken out for most of the third set. Molly Tuozzo and Berezowitz and 19 and 15 digs, respectively. Brooke Bultema had six blocks and Jordyn Dailey added four.
Kentucky was slotted No. 4 in the national seed positions behind Nebraska and Texas, both unbeaten, along with Pitt, which beat Louisville on Sunday. If Kentucky finishes as a top four seed, UK would be in position to host up to the NCAA Final Four in Kansas City.
Kentucky now had eight Quad One wins, another solid resume builder for the NCAA selection committee.
Skinner’s team will play at Mississippi State Friday and Alabama Sunday.
