Kentucky volleyball broke a program record Wednesday night when the No. 3 Cats earned their third, top-10 road win of the season.
The 3-1 victory at No. 9 Texas A&M was a homecoming for three Texans: sophomore middle Kennedy Washington (Glenn Heights), freshman setter Kassie O'Brien (Katy) and junior libero Molly Tuozzo (The Woodlands).
Big night for the Texans, huh? 👀
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) October 9, 2025
We're bringing you an in-depth look at how the Cats earned a record-breaking win in the Lonestar state + what makes Molly Tuozzo so special TONIGHT at 7:30! #BBN
📸: Eddie Justice/UK Athletics pic.twitter.com/JhYnJfylCw
Tuozzo finished the night with a team-high 19 digs, but her impact is much larger than what's easily identifiable with the position's fairly-limiting statistics.
The All-SEC second-teamer from a season ago is back and even better, and this year, head coach Craig Skinner can't stop calling her the best libero in the country.
He should know.
Under Skinner, Kentucky has won the SEC's Libero of the Year award in 11 of the past 14 seasons. In her first full season wearing the libero jersey, Tuozzo is positioning herself to be the next in line, following in the footsteps of a fellow Texan, Ashley Dusek, who earned three-straight nods from 2015-17.
Blood, sweat, tears... and nails 😭 Molly Tuozzo is giving this season her all for @KentuckyVB and @UKCoachSkinner has started saying she's the best libero in the country 👀@ncierzan has a great story coming your way about how she found her voice at "Libero U" - tonight at 7:30 pic.twitter.com/tLg4uBHMfW
— Maggie Davis (@MaggieDavisTV) October 9, 2025
"I think there is a little pressure behind it, but it's really exciting. It's an honor for me to be able to represent that," Tuozzo told BBN Tonight reporter Noah Cierzan.
"It's known as libero university. There have been so many amazing liberos before me, so I think it just makes me work harder... and prove I'm one of those."
She credits a big piece of her junior-year jump to her communication and leadership abilities, with plenty of help from her coaches and teammates. While talking with Cierzan, Tuozzo was quick to admit she wasn't the most-vocal teammate when she first arrived in Lexington.
"Maturity and experience have helped a lot. I keep saying it, but they [coaches, teammates] can attest I didn't speak whenever I got here," Tuozzo said with a laugh.
"I have such an amazing staff here that keeps pushing me to use use my voice more and more, and this team makes it so easy to just feel heard. I know whenever I speak that they're listening to me and they want to hear what I have to say."
One key member of that staff is associate head coach, Merideth Jewell Frey. The former Wildcat is in her fourth year on staff and her first as one of Skinner's co-associate head coaches, alongisde Kyle Luongo.
Jewell Frey and Tuozzo sat down with Cierzan to break down some film and "dig" into what truly makes a great libero:
RELATED: The Making of an SEC Setter: Kassie O'Brien
Story shot and edited by photographer Nick Lazaroff.
For more on Kentucky volleyball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.
