No. 3 Kentucky had to work through more than just Houston on Sunday in Nassau.
After a loss to No. 8 SMU on Saturday, the Wildcats answered with a sweep of the Cougars at BahaMar Resort and Convention Center, winning 25-13, 25-19, 25-23. The match was interrupted by a power outage on the island that led to an about 40-minute delay, and the teams filled part of that pause with an informal “dance off.”
Kentucky still handled business once play resumed, leaning on a balanced effort at the net. Morgan Gaerte finished with nine kills, five blocks and four digs, while middle Lizzie Carr was efficient all afternoon, hitting .636 with eight kills and just one error on 11 swings. Carr also added five blocks as the Wildcats outblocked Houston 12-6.
Asia Thigpen chipped in seven kills, two blocks and one dig, and Kennedy Washington added five kills and five blocks. All-American Brooklyn DeLeye had a quieter day than usual, finishing with a season-low four kills and a .062 hitting percentage.
Setter Kassie O’Brien posted 27 assists, and libero Molly Tuozzo anchored the back row with nine digs.
The win came during a demanding stretch for Kentucky, which has played five matches in 13 days. That run has included the historic meeting with Penn State at Wrigley Field, along with the two matches in Nassau.
Carr said on ESPN after Sunday’s match that a full week of practice before hosting No. 5 Louisville on Sept. 20 will be a boost for the group.
That matchup is set for 3 p.m. on ABC-TV from Memorial Coliseum, with Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak and Michella Chester on the call.
Kentucky also carried the sting of Saturday’s four-set loss to SMU, but Chris Shoals, Kentucky assistant director of athletic communications and public relations, said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk that it will not “hurt us in any way, shape or form” this season.
“SMU is a great team. They just beat Texas in five sets earlier this week, so we learned a lot from yesterday. We got a lot better than if we would have played a really poor team that didn’t match that level of competition,” Shoals said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk.
“We were a few points away from winning. It was 24-22 in the first set.
You close one of those two set points out, you’re up one set to love. The second set, we played great.
Then you’re up two sets to love, just needing one. The fourth set we got caught with the DS (defensive specialist) in the front row, ran out of subs.
Again, these are microscopic margins, and that’s what it is when you have elite-level teams. Absolutely making no excuses.
SMU played great.
“They’re an incredibly athletic team. They hit great out of system.
We were not great in a lot of different areas. We feel like we can clean those things up and would love the opportunity to play them again at a later date because we feel like we left some points out on the table.”
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