Kassie O'Brien (6) and Eva Hudson (7) did the "6-7" meme to start UK's press conference after Sunday's win over Auburn. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Former Kentucky All-American Leah Edmond showed Kentucky coach Craig Skinner no mercy during the Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament.
Edmond is working as a SEC Network analyst at the tournament and during UK’s three-set win over Auburn Sunday she did an interview with him during the match.
“Last time you were at the SEC Tournament, you had hair,” Edmond told Skinner.
That was in 2005 when UK lost to Arkansas in the SEC tourney. This was the first time since then the SEC has had a postseason volleyball tournament.
Top-seeded Kentucky beat eighth-seeded Auburn 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22) Sunday behind 15 kills from Brooklyn DeLeye and a 13-kill, no-error performance by Eva Hudson to advance to tonight’s semifinals against Tennessee.
“We had already played them (Auburn) once this year, but it was a while ago, so we knew it was going to be a completely new matchup. Just coming out strong and knowing that they weren’t going to back away as the game went on (was important),” DeLeye said.
Kentucky hit .349 for the match behind the play of DeLeye and Hudson, the SEC Player of the Year. Lizzie Carr had eight kills. Setter Kassie O’Brien, the SEC Freshman of the Year, had 42 assists on 46 of Kentucky’s kills. She also had 10 digs and three blocks in a four-point sequence.
Kentucky limited the Tigers to .168 hitting as Molly Tuozzo joined O’Brien with 10 digs while defensive specialist Molly Berezowitz had nine digs, including five in the first set.
Hudson hit .520 and also had eight digs to keep the offense clicking. She told the SEC Network it had been easy playing with DeLeye, an All-American and 2024 SEC Player of the Year, since transferring from Purdue.
“I think we just clicked automatically. Our whole team has been (in Lexington) since January, the freshmen came early, the transfers came early, so we’ve just been together. We know the work that’s being put in and all the grit that we show on the court,” Hudson said.
Former Florida coach Mary Wise now works as a TV analyst. She said while Hudson and DeLeye deserve the praise they receive, Kentucky has grown as a team during the season.
“Where they have really improved is the serving game and ability to get points out of the middle. They have probably worked on it all season and there is no better time than the end of the season to bring that forward,” Wise said after Kentucky won its 27th straight SEC match going back to last season.
Hudson said No. 2 Kentucky understands there is no looking ahead in tournament play.
“We just take it one game at a time,” Hudson said. “Obviously, that’s a really good Auburn team, so we had to prepare for them and now we can focus on the next team.”
Wise said experiencing that one-and-done mentality in SEC tourney play is great preparation for the NCAA Tournament where UK should be one of the four No. 1 seeds.
“I think the SEC tournament gets your players in that NCAA Tournament mode. Both are one-and-done so now you got that pressure you must win or it is over,” Wise said.
SEC Network analyst Logan Eggleston, who won a national title with Texas in 2022, believes Kentucky will be hard for anyone to beat because of “two powerhouses on the pin” in DeLeye and Hudson.
“Kentucky has been rolling and what they are focused on is preserving that seeding for the NCAA Tournament. They are playing for something higher (a national championship) than a regular season championship.”
Kentucky-Auburn Volleyball
Photos by Vicky Graff
