On Friday, Oct. 9, the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats swept LSU at Historic Memorial Coliseum, bouncing back after a loss against the No. 7 Florida Gators.

Craig Skinner’s team came in with heavy momentum in front of their home crowd, combining for a total of 46 kills.

Kentucky started strong in the first set, combining for 17 kills, 12 from outside hitters junior Morgan Gaerte and senior Brooklyn Deleye.

The Big Blue Nation had it rocking in HMC, creating an electric environment and ranking as the ninth loudest crowd in program history.

Post-injury, Gaetre showed the Wildcats what they were missing by combining for 15 kills and an impressive .500 hitting percentage. Kentucky was forced to bring the heat at the end of the first set when LSU went on a 4-0 scoring run, creeping up on the lead.

However, after a timeout, six-foot-six middle blocker Lizzy Car kept the momentum with a textbook attack, giving the Cats the edge they needed to close the set.

This was a special game for Carr, where she hit her 200th career block. Carr had seven blocks throughout the game, preventing LSU from seeing Kentucky’s offense.

But Carr isn’t the only middle blocker making some impactful plays – junior Kennedy Washington had two blocks and five kills, putting some serious defensive pressure on LSU.

Later on, Kentucky faced a point-to-point climb in the second set, gaining only up to a three-point lead throughout the set. A dig from libero Molly Tuezzo and a kill from Gaerte boosted a six-point lead at the end of the set to win.

Assistant Kyle Luongo came out earlier this week about how the team is finding creative ways to keep Tuozzo in the game, even when teams deliberately avoid her. Kentucky consistently adjusted the severe receive scheme with her, getting closer to the server’s angle.

The behind-the-scenes work allowed a cohesive performance from the libero. Sophomore defensive specialist Trinity Ward also kept Kentucky’s defense afloat with 11 digs throughout the match.

Leading by one in the third set, Kentucky had to fight for the sweep as room for defensive errors vanished. Off a LSU service error, the home team gained a four-point lead, running with the momentum to close the match.

An overpass kill from Gaerte lit up the stadium, giving the Wildcats a five-point lead they hadn’t seen all set. They earned the sweep on a six-point lead against the Tigers, getting back in the win column and making their overall record so far this season 12-3.

Kentucky’s response in this game shows its improvement outside of the public eye and the attention to detail the team takes to get into rhythm throughout these matches.

Skinner’s team plays next this Sunday, Oct. 11 against Ole Miss (8-7) at 2:00 p.m. ET from Historic Memorial Coliseum. The match will be streamed live on the SEC Network.

On Oct. 4, the No. 7 Florida Gators ended No. 3 Kentucky’s five-match winning streak after a grueling five-set match, handing the Wildcats their first loss in conference play.

In total, Kentucky had an attacking average of only .133, significantly lower than its near-.268 average. Craig Skinner’s team totaled 53 kills across 166 attacks.

Senior Brookyn Deleye and six-foot-five junior Morgan Gaerte totaled 33 kills throughout the match, which kept the Wildcats within reaching distance during the second and third sets.

This neck-and-neck battle pitted the SEC’s best offense against its best defense: unstoppable Kentucky versus an immovable Florida.

Following the game, associate coach Kyle Luongo spoke about the team’s response to the loss while Skinner was on a recruiting trip.

“You never want to lose…but we essentially do need to learn from that loss,” Luongo said. “It was a tough one.”

Florida’s lockdown defense prevented Kentucky’s main powerhouse hitters from making key plays to build a scoring run. The first four sets were so close that neither team could win by more than four.

“Statistically, it wasn’t pretty for either team,” Luongo continued. “Florida just kind of gutted it out, and they were better in a few areas where we weren’t.”

Although the Gators secured the win, they surrendered five service errors, while the Wildcats padded their service errors with four aces, three of them from Deleye.

The swamp offense also largely avoided putting the ball near libero Molly Tuozzo, who recorded 21 digs.

“Teams will do whatever they can to avoid serving Molly Tuozzo…we somehow creatively get Tuozzo to pass more balls even when they’re trying to avoid her.”

She averages about 13 digs per match this season, and opposing teams know she can get just about anything up. Kentucky is adapting creatively to keep her on the ball when teams avoid her, so the Wildcats stay in the system.

Florida directly targeted players in the left back to avoid Tuozzo, which meant they were picking on Deleye and junior outside hitter Asia Thigpen.

“They’ll just want to pick on Brooklyn even though her numbers suggest you don’t,” Luongo exclaimed. “She’s a good passer. Mabye they think they’re going to wear her down or something.”

However, Thigpen had 14 digs against Florida, resisting Florida’s attempt to pick her apart.

Kentucky is looking for new ways to improve its defense, such as finding new places for Tuozzo and preparing Deleye and Thigpen to pick up a significant number of balls in the middle back.

“Ready to keep pushing through, and that failure is not final… so we just have to keep moving and even all that we still want to accomplish. This season is still all out before us.”

One loss does not define Kentucky; it remains among the nation’s best and can be incredibly successful in the NCAA Tournament.

“I trust our group. I think I trust our leaders and so well be ready to go.”

Kentucky is building momentum for a return home, hosting the LSU Tigers (7-6) at Historic Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 9. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will stream live on SEC Network+. Can the Wildcats get back in the win column?

Coming into the matchup on Oct. 2, Kentucky men’s soccer had not won a game, holding a record of 0-5-3. The squad had shown many signs of life throughout the season and just never could finish the game. That all changed for the Wildcats on Friday night.

Old Dominion started strong, scoring just three minutes into the game, playing like the No. 23 ranked team in the country. In the 21st minute, Kentucky responded with a goal from Agustin Lopez, helping the Wildcats take control of the game and score again just four minutes after.

Bertil Abram hit an absolute missile from just outside the box to give Kentucky the 2-1 lead. Things stayed this way at half, with UK carrying the momentum into the locker room.

The second half was back-and-forth for a while until Jason Purks of Old Dominion found the back of the net in the 72nd minute. Usually, this would be the point when Kentucky would lose motivation to keep fighting, but not this night.

Kentucky immediately responded in the 80th minute with a goal from Mats Brune. Minutes after that, Lopez found the back of the net again, with a missile from right inside of the box with just 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Kentucky would hold on and snag its first win of the year.

After the game, head coach Johan Cedergren was asked how it felt to get the team’s first win of the year, especially against a top-25-ranked team in the country.

“It feels good. It’s been a frustrating start, of course, and I think that there’s been several games we’ve played really well,” said Cedegre. “We have had nothing to show for it.”

When asked about the team’s resilience in this contest and how they kept fighting even after going down 1-0 early on, he responded, “I think it’s the law of averages. At some point, if you have a good performance, you’re going to get the result as well. I go back to how hard we worked over these last couple of weeks…we’re going to get through it together.”

It was a matter of everything finally coming together for the squad to pick up the upset win against Old Dominion. Up next, the Wildcats will head on the road to play Indiana.

Coach explained, “IU is a good program, and of course, fantastic, successful. Again, for us, it’s just that if we do the stuff we did today, we can beat anyone.”

Kentucky is trending in the right direction and has an opportunity to pick up another upset win in Bloomington on Oct. 6th. Set to start at 8:00 p.m. ET and will air live Big 10 Network.