Kentucky volleyball moves to 15-0 in SEC play with 18th consecutive win

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 11 Kentucky volleyball team extended its winning streak to 18 matches, which is its longest since 1993, on Wednesday night with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-13) sweep of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Barnhill Arena.

“Very pleased with our focus and executing the game plan as the match went along,” head coach Craig Skinner said. “We were very efficient offensively and put a lot of stress on Arkansas with very few hitting errors.”

With the result on Wednesday night, Kentucky improves to 21-4 overall on the season and stays perfect in the Southeastern Conference with its 15th-straight win in league play to move to 15-0. Arkansas falls to 11-14 overall in 2018 and is now 5-10 in league. Kentucky remains as the only undefeated team in the SEC this season.

Wednesday night was UK’s 16th consecutive win over Arkansas for the Wildcats, a streak that dates back to September of 2013.

Junior outside hitter Leah Edmond led Kentucky in the match with 12 kills on 28 swings for a .321 hitting clip to go along with six digs and two blocks. Freshman outside hitter Alli Stumler had her 11th match this season with 10+ kills, recording 10 in the match on a red-hot .417 hitting percentage with no errors, which is the second time she’s hit above .300 in as many matches. The freshman also added three aces, eight digs and a block.

Junior opposite Caitlyn Cooper posted nine kills on 19 swings for a match-high .421 clip. She also added three digs, two aces and a block. Sophomore libero Gabby Curry tied for the match high in digs with 15. Sophomore Setter Madison Lilley had 39 assists in the match on Wednesday night, with six digs and a kill. The native of Overland Park, Kansas recorded her 17th match this season with 35-plus assists.

The Wildcats compiled a hitting percentage above .300 for the third consecutive match with .390 tonight and limited Arkansas to just .133.

Sunday will mark the middle match of Kentucky’s current three-match road swing at No. 23 Mizzou with a chance to clinch at least a share of the SEC title. The match will start at 4 p.m. ET and will be carried live on the SEC Network, ESPN3 and the ESPN app.