KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kentucky volleyball will keep dancing, as the No. 1 seed Wildcats earned a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory over No. 3 seed Wisconsin, 3-2 Thursday night.
With the win, the Cats advance to the National Championship match for the second time in program history, the first since the Cats raised the trophy in the 2020-21 season. This year's group of Wildcats will return to the court one final time this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET to play Texas A&M for the title. The match will be broadcast on ABC.
Senior outside hitter and National Player of the Year finalist Eva Hudson led the way for Kentucky's offense, recording 29 kills while committing only four errors for a .455 hitting percentage.
Brooklyn DeLeye finished with 15 kills with seven errors, while she was one of Kentucky's most-timely defenders. She dug 14 balls - only three fewer than the team's libero, Molly Tuozzo. DeLeye also added a team-best five blocks.
Wisconsin All-American outside hitter Mimi Colyer finished with a match-high 32 kills, while her team hit .375 on the night. Carter Booth was dominate in the middle for the Badgers with 21 terminations on 30 swings and only two errors, while contributing a match-high six blocks.
COMEBACK CATS ✅ pic.twitter.com/OPW24Oqx2t
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 19, 2025
Kentucky is now 8-1 in matches in which they lost the first set. And yes, they truly lost the first set.
It was all Wisconsin, as the Badgers led by as many as 12 points (21-9) before claiming the opening frame, 25-12. That's the fewest points the Wildcats had scored all season in a 25-point set. Wisconsin hit a blistering .682 (15 kills; zero errors), while holding Kentucky to .056 (nine kills; seven errors).
Craig Skinner on what he said to his team after dropping the first set, 25-12: "Congrats guys. We could not have played any worse. Honest"
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 19, 2025
Wisconsin also dominated in the back row, with 17 digs to Kentucky's five. It was an uncharacteristic back-row performance by the Wildcats, and one they were quick to rectify.
In set two, Kentucky out-dug the Badgers, 13-10.
In fact, Kentucky's second set win helped the Cats get back to form in a myriad of ways. Namely, Hudson's arm looked lethal again, as she recorded four kills and one block for five points in the red zone.
Her efforts helped Kentucky close set two on a 7-2 run, winning 25-22.
Crunch time? FEED THE STUDS pic.twitter.com/epWeXgs9Zn
— Maggie Davis (@MaggieDavisTV) December 19, 2025
The battle continued into the third, but Wisconsin got hot when it mattered most. This time, it was the Badgers who hit the red zone first, 20-16. The four-point lead narrowed to one (22-21), but the Cats would not score again, as Wisconsin finished the set on a 3-0 run. The Badgers claimed the third, 25-21.
The fourth saw back-and-forth fire. Tuozzo and Hudson earned the first two aces of the match; it was the first time all night the Cats had a positive service ace-to-error ratio.
First ace of the match goes to Molly Tuozzo, who rolled one just over the net to put the Cats on a 3-0 run in a must-win set four
— Maggie Davis (@MaggieDavisTV) December 19, 2025
It took an additional swing, but the Cats won it in extra points, 26-24 to force a decisive fifth.
The Cats maintained that fire and stayed hot throughout the final frame, jumping out to a 6-1 lead before the Badgers had a chance to get their bearings. They eventually did, working their way back within two, as Kentucky clung to an 11-9 lead. But, as they've done all year, the Cats stayed cool under pressure to close it out, securing the comeback win with a 15-13 final set.
It will be an SEC battle for the National Championship, with Kentucky facing Texas A&M for the second time this season. The Wildcats defeated the then No. 9 Aggies 3-1 in College Station during the regular season, on October 8.
The rematch is set for Sunday afternoon at 3:30 ET on ABC.
