DeLeye and Gaerte Both Go For 21 Kills in SEC Opening Win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Morgan Gaerte and Brooklyn DeLeye both had 21 kills Wednesday night as No. 3 Kentucky opened Southeastern Conference play with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19) win over the previously unbeaten Vanderbilt Commodores in Memorial Gymnasium.
Kentucky dropped the first set with five attack errors and then played the next two sets only with two attack errors combined, including zero in the third set’s entirety as the Wildcats won their 27th-straight SEC match to open league play.
Kassie O’Brien had 54 assists on the night and paced the Wildcats to .444 hitting for the evening with .400 and above for the UK offense in the final three sets of the night. In addition to DeLeye and Gaerte both notching 21 kills, Lizzie Carr and Asia Thigpen both also had eight for UK on the evening.
The UK defense was strong Wednesday as it had 12 blocks to the Commodores two with Lizzie Carr notching seven to lead all players in the match. Vandy had two stuff blocks in the first set and did not record a block against UK in the final combined three sets.
Kentucky is now 9-2 on the year and will play host to No. 7 Texas on Sunday at...