Kentucky overcame two match points in set 3 to beat No. 2 Texas in five sets to win the SEC Tournament Tuesday. (Sofia Yaker Photo)
Let Southeastern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Molly Tuozzo explain how Kentucky overcame losing the first two sets against No. 3 Texas to come back and win the tourney title Tuesday night in Savannah, Ga.
“We are a pack of wolves. We have that fight in us,” said Tuozzo, who had 16 digs, seven assists and two service aces in the reverse sweep that extended No. 2 UK’s win streak to 22.
Texas dominated set 1 19-25 and then rallied from being down 18-22 to win set 2 28-26. The Longhorns, who were swept by UK during the regular season, had two match points in set 3 but the Cats refused to go away and won 28-26.
“Kentucky started playing with the confidence that was missing for most of the first three sets,” said SEC Network analyst Emily Ehman.
“It said a lot to us as a staff in the third set to pull that out,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “The guts, grit and resilience to come back from down 7-2 (in set 3) and two match points is huge. Everything in life is earned and they (UK players) earned every bit of it.
“This is a special team. I can’t tell you how hard it is to go undefeated in this conference. This team came to work every day and just got better.”
Kentucky had a 21-15 lead in set 4 and closed it out 25-22. The fifth set was deadlocked 9-9 before UK took over. Kassie O’Brien and Brooke Bultema combined for a block, Evan Hudson had a kill, Texas made an attack error, Kentucky got a block from Hudson/Bultema and then Hudson, the SEC Player of the Year, closed the match with two consecutive kills to set off a big UK celebration.
Hudson played like a star. She had 25 kills and hit .300. She also made 11 digs, blocked two shots, had two assists and served two aces.
“This shows how much grit we have,” Hudson said. “Not one second did we doubt each other.”
Texas played well and hit .301 for the match. Torrey Stafford had 28 kills and hit .471 and setter Ella Swindle had 47 assists and 17 digs. But what made the win even more impressive is that UK won with an “off” game from All-American Brooklyn DeLeye who hit only .047 and had 13 kills and 11 errors on 43 swings.
“It is the sign of a great team that you don’t have to rely on just two players (Hudson and DeLeye) and other players can step up and fill those holes,” Ehman said.
DeLeye did come up with 16 digs as Texas constantly attacked her with the serve to try and counter her explosive hitting. Teammates, though, made up for DeLeye’s normal kills.
— Middle Lizzie Carr had 13 kills and only one error to hit .414. She also had nine blocks and even added two digs.
— Asia Thigpen had 10 kills with no errors and hit .500. She also had four blocks. In the semifinal win over Tennessee on Monday, Thigpen played the first set but did not play the final three sets.
— Middle Brooke Bultema added eight kills and hit .400. She also blocked two shots. Her play in the final two sets was key for the Wildcats.
— Setter Kassie O’Brien, the SEC Freshman of the Year, was her normal stat-stuffing self. She had 56 assists, 11 digs, three blocks and three kills.
Those numbers and a refuse to lose mentality carried Kentucky to a tournament title when it looked all but over in the third set.
“I love this team so much,” Tuozzo said. “We played with so much pride for Kentucky across our chest (on the jersey).
“It’s an amazing feeling. We didn’t get one (championship). We got two (regular season and tournament).”
Now Kentucky will wait for the NCAA Tournament pairings to be announced Sunday but Skinner’s team should be the No. 2 overall seed behind unbeaten Nebraska and host games in Memorial Coliseum as long as it wins until the Final Four.
Kentucky-Texas Volleyball
Photos by Sofia Yaker
5 Responses
WOW–CONGRATS VOLLEY-CATS!!! What an unbelievable win!! U can't ever count the UK VOLLEY-CATS out of any match–I watched them on TV early in the season in what was just like their third or fourth match of the season when they played NEB in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville–they ended up losing that match after they won the first two sets–it was a real heartbreaker–they ran outta steam a bit by that fourth and fifth set–but that NEB squad is a powerhouse–they were impressive to watch, but it was definitely an agonizing defeat. But it's not like it was a defeat that killed their season–they have won 22 matches in a row, went undefeated in the SEC reg season and tournament, won both, and will now be the overall second #1 seed behind NEB. It is playing programs like NEB that prepare them for the grind that is that SEC. Skinner schedules well every year, and coaches well, and has these girls prepared every year by the time the stretch run of the conf season comes, and then into the postseason. This team has some serious athletes in Brooklyn and Eva, they are so much fun to watch, they have the ability to dominate games, but then they also have many other weapons on their team as well……congrats VOLLEY-CATS!! Now let's make a championship run!!
If you didn't watch these gals to the last point, you missed out. Tough, gritty, relentless, and together. Exactly what a Team should look like. Skinner is a Great coach. They are set up to dominate volleyball for years. Congrats Cats! Now go take the big hardware!
What a 5 set match, love watching the ladies.
I admit that I cut it off after they went down big in the beginning of set 3. I cut it back on but could only bring myself to “peek” at intervals during the rest of the match. What an incredible comeback against a very good Texas team to win the SEC tournament. It was truly a team victory with the lesser known stars of the team contributing to the victory.
Amazing win! Very special group of talented ladies. Good luck to Coach Skinner and the team in the NCAA tourney!