No. 4 Kentucky Volleyball sweeps Tigers to open "Beat LSU Weekend"

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Wildcats scratched, clawed and swept their way to a win over the Tigers, as No. 4 Kentucky volleyball opened Lexington's "Beat LSU Weekend" with a 3-0 win inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

With Friday night's win (25-20, 25-19, 25-19), the Wildcats move to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in SEC play. Tonight's attendance was announced at 5,076, marking the ninth-largest home crowd in venue history, and the first time the Cats have hosted 5,000 or more fans for at least three separate, regular-season matches in program history.

Brooklyn DeLeye led all players with 16 kills, while Morgan Gaerte added 15. Both attackers had four blocks apiece, while Kentucky's senior middle blocker, Lizzie Carr, had eight stuffs, bringing her career total north of 200.

Setter Kassie O'Brien paced the UK offense to a .277 clip, collecting 34 assists and nine digs along the way, while libero Molly Tuozzo steered the defensive ship with 12 digs and an ace.

LSU's leading attacker, Jurnee Robinson, finished with ten terminations on a .000 clip with 41 swings and ten errors. As a team, the Tigers hit .112, with the Cats out-blocking the visitors, 10-6.

Following Sunday's disappointing 3-2 loss at Florida, the Wildcats came out with renewed focus Friday night against the Tigers. An efficient beginning yielded positive results for the Cats, with UK hitting .375 compared to LSU's .097 through the first frame. Gaerte paced the Kentucky offense with six early kills, followed by DeLeye's five.

Kentucky led by as many as nine before settling for a 25-20 set one win.

The second set was a closer affair, with the Cats and the Tigers battling for the advantage.

Leading 17-15, Kentucky rattled off a four-point scoring run to give the home team a six-point cushion into the red zone. Brooklyn DeLeye's serve forced the Tigers into an attacking error to earn Kentucky's 25th and final point of the frame, concluding an 8-4 run to end set two, 25-19.

After trading sides of the court, the Cats picked up right where they left off to start the third. DeLeye and Carr combined for a block to earn Kentucky's first point of the frame, before LSU staged an attack of its own. A UK service error and an attacking error on subsequent points tied the set at 2-2. It was tied, again, at 3-3 before LSU claimed a lead it did not relinquish until the Cats clawed back, 16-15.

They would never trail again. Kentucky tied a bow on set three with one final 3-0 run to take set three, 25-19 and the match, 3-0.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton

Also in the third, senior defensive specialist Molly Berezowitz saw the court for the first time since Kentucky's SEC opener against her younger sister, Kati Berezowitz and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Sophomore Georgia Watson and freshman Bryah Breaux also saw their first action of the night in the third and final set.

With one LSU team already defeated, Kentucky football will look to continue what Kentucky volleyball started, as "Beat LSU Weekend" continues Saturday night inside Kroger Field. Kickoff remains set for 7 p.m., despite rainy conditions expected in the area.

Craig Skinner's Wildcats continue the homestand this Sunday, with Kentucky volleyball set to host Ole Miss at 2 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+.

It's the final match in Memorial until the final week of October, with the Wildcats preparing for a three-match road trip to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee over the next two weeks.

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