The No. 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (29-2, 15-0 SEC) swept No. 3 Creighton (28-6, 16-0 Big East) in the Lexington Regional Final and punched their ticket to Kansas City.

This trip to Missouri will be the Cats’ second ever time reaching the Final Four in program history. The last time head coach Craig Skinner led a Kentucky team to this point, they would end up winning a national championship.

The Current Tournament Run

The sweep versus Creighton was the third time this tournament the Cats had to bring out the brooms against opponents. Kentucky swept Creighton, Cal Poly and Wofford while UCLA only lasted one set better than other opponents, losing its match in four sets.

The only teams to remain undefeated in the tournament so far are Nebraska and Texas, both of whom play their final regional matches on Sunday, Dec. 14.

To end the Lexington Regional Tournament, Kentucky not only got to hold up the trophy and bask in the win, but a select few were recognized by being named to the all-region team.

Molly Tuozzo, Lizzie Carr and Eva Hudson all were called in front of a sold out crowd, and to round out the names, it was announced Brooklyn Deleye won most outstanding player.

Deleye ended the match versus Creighton with 19.5 points, 18 kills, 12 digs and 3 blocks.

Heading to Kansas City

Kentucky is joined by Pittsburgh as one of two No. 1 seeds to make it to the semi-finals so far. When the Wildcats touch down for their next matchup, they will play the winner of the Texas-Wisconsin match that is set to happen on Dec. 14.

The Wildcats are set to play on Thursday, Dec. 18. A match time is yet to be set inside of the T-Mobile Center – the game will be streamed live on ESPN.

The No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats (28-2, 15-0 SEC) took down No. 4 Cal Poly (27-8, 4-4 Big West) in just three sets on Thursday, Dec. 11 inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum.

One step closer to Kansas City, the Cats put on a show in front of the home crowd. Kentucky fans are used to watching the dominance as their team has swept opponents 16 total times this season, now, doing so in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Sweep

Dominant is not a word to be used lightly, but it is one of the better ways to describe the Wildcats’ performance on the third set of this match.

Kentucky held the lead the entire third set and held Cal Poly to just seven points in the final set. A driving factor defensively was the performance from Lizzie Carr, who finished with six blocks, two of those blocks coming in the third set.

It wasn’t just Carr’s defense that sealed the Wildcat win – it was her ability to play both ways on the floor. She led the match in points with 14.5 and totaled 11 kills, tied for most in the match. Kassie O’Brien totaled 31 assists, leading the match and taking over offensively.

Kentucky put up these stats in front of 4,039 fans – blue and white fans that created an absurd atmosphere. From “Go Big Blue!” to the infamous “Blue-White” chants, Cal Poly was rattled nearly all night.

Up Next

Now halfway through the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, the Wildcats have three more rounds to go before they can claim a National Championship.

Up next for the Cats is No. 3 Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3:30 p.m. inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. This will be the last match before the winner heads to Kansas City, Missouri for the final two rounds of play. The match is currently scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.

This past weekend, Kentucky’s volleyball team extended its win streak to 24 straight after a quick sweep against the Wofford Terriers (17-14) and a tough 3-1 battle vs the No. 8 UCLA Bruins (19-13) to punch a ticket to a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance.

First Round: Wofford
Kentucky’s biggest strength on the court throughout its dominant two-loss season has always been their suffocating offensive prowess, but it was the defense that would end up giving Wofford no chance of survival, emphasized by a rally era record in digs (in a three-set match) with 66.

It took a while to get Big Blue going on the offense, but 14 kills from Wildcats star Brooklyn DeLeye would keep the ball rolling and lead the sweep that volleyball fans expected from the second-ranked team in the bracket (only behind undefeated Nebraska).

Second Round: No. 8 UCLA

It’s truly impressive that Kentucky won this match 3-1. The No. 8 seeded Bruins kept the Cats on their claws throughout the whole game, including Kentucky’s two longest sets of the season, the second of which would lead to UCLA’s lone set point.

Despite the gutsier match of Kentucky’s two so far, Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner kept high praise for his team’s persistent focus and effort in the post presser.

“(UCLA’s) high end is pretty ridiculous,” said Skinner. “For us to weather the storms in the first set and pull that out and then add pressure after losing the third set, a tight one, I give (Eva Hudson & Brooklyn DeLeye) a lot of credit for carrying the offensive load and bailing us out of some situations, which was huge.”

Coming Up

Kentucky will play in the third round of the NCAA Volleyball tournament against Cal Poly, a team that upset No. 5 BYU in the first round and regional host No. 4 USC in the second round. The day and time have yet to be released.