LEXINGTON, Ky. — Victory is sweet.
With a 3-1 win against 8-seed UCLA, the Kentucky volleyball team dances past the Bruins to advance into the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.
As one of the tournament's winning No. 1 seeds, UK will continue to host postseason play. The Cats will welcome the winner of 4-seed USC and Cal Poly (time and TV assignment still to be determined). That match is set to begin Friday at 10 p.m. ET, and this article will be updated once a winner is decided.
Friday night against the Bruins, junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye led Kentucky's offense with 30 kills. She was joined in double figures by senior outside Eva Hudson, who added 27 of her own, while junior libero Molly Tuozzo continued to lead the team's defense, recording 15 digs and ten assists. The league's freshman of the year, setter Kassie O'Brien, paced the offense to a .400 clip and assisted on 60 of the team's 77 cumulative kills.
Set one:
Kentucky scored the first point of the night before the Bruins took over on a 5-point run to pull ahead, 5-1.
The No. 1 seed quickly responded, as the Cats rattled off a 5-0 run of their own to pull back in front. Tied at 15, the teams traded runs again: Kentucky's 3-0 burst put the Cats up 19-16, before a 3-0 answer by the Bruins tied the match at 19.
UCLA earned a 1-point advantage, 21-20, before UK head coach Craig Skinner called for a timeout. The Cats earned two points out of the break before the Bruins called for a timeout of their own.
The visitors reached set point first, 24-23, but a kill by Hudson equalized the score and extended the frame. UCLA scored next, then, déjà vu. With the Bruins once again at set point, Hudson's kill prolonged the action.
The teams would be tied again at 25, 26, 27 and 28 apiece before the Cats found some separation thanks to three-straight kills off the hands of DeLeye.
VBALL: CATS TAKE SET 1! What a battle 'til the end. Final score of the first is 30-28. Cats won the final 3 points of the frame #BBN
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 6, 2025
DeLeye: 9 kills
Hudson: 8 kills
Carr + Thigpen: 2 blocks apiece
Tuozzo: 5 digs/4 assists
O'Brien: 16 assists/7 digs
Set two:
After battling for the entirety of the first frame, the second was a showing in domination. Despite UCLA winning the first point of the set, it felt as though the Cats were in control from beginning to end.
Case and point? The run the Cats sustained for seven-consecutive points, ballooning their lead to 21-12.
Hudson's errorless play provided a powerful boost to Kentucky's offense, as she closed the set with 12 kills and zero errors. But it wasn't a one-woman show; UK's offense, as a whole, was clicking.
The Cats recorded a .464 hitting percentage, as O'Brien reached the 30-assist milestone on Kentucky's first 36 kills.
CATS CLAIM SET 2! After battling in the first, UK controlled the second from start to finish, winning 25-16.
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 6, 2025
Hudson ends the second set with her 12th kill of the night (still 0 errors)
As a team, UK hit .464 in the 2nd set 🤯 O'Brien has 30 assists on UK's 36 total kills #BBN
Set three:
The Bruins fought back in the third. Redshirt junior and Texas transfer Marianna Singletary led her team out of the middle, reaching 15 kills by the end of the frame, while senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette added a team-high 16.
With a 23-22 lead, DeLeye popped one over the block for a soft landing and the set's first match point, 24-22. UCLA took the next two points to equalize set three at 24.
DeLeye, again. Match point, again.
Bruins respond, again.
UCLA's Leverette brought her team to 25. Hudson's attack error on the following play pushed the Bruines in front by one, forcing Skinner to call a timeout.
Hudson immediately made up for the error, rolling the ball out of bounds off the fingertips of the defenders to knot things back up, 26-26.
Big time players made big time plays, as both teams' power hitters did their best damage.
Singletary kill. Then, Hudson kill.
UCLA took a one-point advantage, 28-27 before a service error gave one back to the Cats. Ultimately, Kentucky couldn't string two together to complete the sweep, as the Bruins earned the set three win, 30-28.
Set four:
DeLeye came out on fire in the fourth, earning four of Kentucky's first six points on her way to a 9-kill frame.
The Cats could not be slowed in the fourth and final frame of the night, reaching a match-best .643 hitting percentage thanks to a 19-kill, 1-error outing. Kentucky held the Bruins to .208 in the fourth, .258 for the match overall.
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.
