UK volleyball downs UCLA

I’m not well-versed on the nuances of volleyball. I’d be better off trying to explain the mindset of each member of the College Football Playoff Committee as to discuss the in’s and out’s of college volleyball. However, I do know the four set win that the University of Kentucky executed over UCLA on November 5th was super scintillating. Kentucky managed a 30-28, 25-16, 28-30, 25-17 win over the Bruins, of the B1G Ten Conference, in the second round of the NCAA Division I volleyball tournament held at Historic Memorial Coliseum on the UK campus, before a raucous crowd of 4,422.
The Wildcats, a second overall seed in the tournament, fell behind 5-1 in the opening set. “I think we knew that they (the Bruins) were going to pounce from the very beginning and I don’t think we came out from the very first point. So, I think we just knew that we had to respond and fight back,” outside hitter, Brooklyn DeLeye, stated after the contest.
UK responded quickly to take a 9-7 lead on a big blast by Kassie O’Brien that could have left a large dent in the floor. Lizzie Carr used a bit of trickery that found her off-speed shot fall harmlessly to the floor for a 17-16 Kentucky lead. An excellent kill shot offered up by DeLeye, gave UK a three-point lead. UCLA kept fighting back and had two set points to close out the set before the ‘Cats eked out the 30-28 win.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner stated that the first set was tight due to UCLA serving “some bullets.” “I didn’t think our passes were that bad. Their serves created some tough rhythms because some of them were low, some of them were high, some of them were off, and so it was really hard to get into an offensive rhythm (not only in the first set but
throughout the match),” Skinner stated.
The second set was a back and forth affair with UK holding a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout. Then the Wildcats turned on the jets and were leading 21-12, before finally winning a fairly easy second set by a 25-16 margin.
It seemed like UK might just sweep the match, with three consecutive wins, but the Bruins kept on battling and the ‘Cats were ahead 24-23 when UK hit a ball that was called out. Coach Skinner immediately requested a video review and it was determined that the
 call was correct and instead of (with an overturned call) the match being concluded, that third set continued. UCLA eked out the 30-28 victory but the California squad were still trailing two sets to one.
UCLA coach Alfee Reft commented about the second set and being blown out in that set and then rallying in the third set. “The team was incredibly focused, there was no rattle. They were just very mission-oriented and ready to move into the next set. I’m really proud of the team’s composure through tight sets.”
The fourth set, which proved to be the last set, saw UK hustle out to a quick 3-0 lead only to find UCLA battling back to tie the score at 7. An Eva Hudson thunderous kill (UK ended the game with 77 overall kills) expanded UK’s lead to 18-13 and after another explosive kill by Carr the crowd became as loud as it was all night. Coach Skinner noted that the home crowd was a huge advantage for his squad. Skinner said that he heard quite a few ‘Go Big Blue’ cheers. “Those chants were very prevalent tonight at key moments and it was very hard to hear at times. It was awesome to hear them get behind us when we needed a lift. They got behind us and it gives you goosebumps when you hear those chants
going up,” Skinner exclaimed. Coach Skinner was mildly disappointed that the match was not a sell-out given the magnitude of the clash. Speaking of his team’s next opponent which will be Cal Polytechnical Insitute San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly for short). Skinner stated, “I would love to see this place packed out.” Cal Poly won the Big West Conference Tournament and defeated Brigham Young University (BYU) and Soutehrn California. Cal Poly is unseeded in this year’s tournament.