UK volleyball sweeps LSU to remain undefeated; softball Wildcats score walk-off win.
Junior outside hitter Ali Stumler accounted for 19 kills and sophomore Azhani Tealer contributed 14 as the University of Kentucky volleyball team swept LSU 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-17) Friday night in Memorial Coliseum.
Ranked No. 3 in the AVCA coaches poll, UK dominated the match, hitting .463 as a team and holding LSU to just .258. Led by Gabby Curry, Kentucky’s defense did not allow LSU to hit above .303 in any set.
Tealer hit a team best .812 and made just one error in the match. Stumler’s 19 kills came on 34 swings. She also had four digs. Curry had a match-high 14 digs. Madison Lilley had 43 assists on UK’s 51 kills in the match.
Kentucky improved to 13-0 on the season. The Wildcats are the only undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference and have a two-match lead on Florida in the SEC standings.
The Wildcats were scheduled to complete the two-match series against LSU on Saturday night. UK will host a two-match series against Mississippi next weekend. Friday and Saturday’s contests against the Rebels are both scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Walk-off win for softball Cats
Junior outfielder Renee Abernathy slapped a hit up the middle in the bottom of the seventh, driving home Kayla Kowalik as the UK softball team scored a 5-4 walk-off win over Illinois State in the Florida Atlantic University Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., on Friday. It was Abernathy’s second walk-off hit this season for the Wildcats, who improved to 17-0.
Kowalik went 4-for-4 and scored two runs in the win. The junior catcher had three lead-off singles and improved her batting average to .574. Erin Coffel went 2-for-4. Autumn Humes had two RBI and pitched six innings, improving her record to 7-0.
UK baseball falls
Kentucky’s baseball team was beaten by Ball State 3-2 in Friday’s series opener at Kentucky Proud Park, ending its season-opening winning streak at six games. Austin Schultz’s bases-loaded drive into the wind in the eighth inning was run down at the warning track. The Wildcats left 11 men on base.
Kentucky (6-1) in the third inning took a 2-0 lead but left the bases loaded. The Cardinals — who also have two wins over a ranked Arizona team — scored single runs in the fourth and seventh innings then scored the game-winning run in the eighth via an opposite-field double by Ross Messina.
UK gymnastics drops finale
Sophomore Raena Worley won two events but the 14th-ranked Kentucky gymnastics team fell to the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs 197.325-196.900 in Friday’s regular-season finale in Athens.
The Cats head to the postseason with a record of 4-4 (4-3 SEC), while the Bulldogs improved to 3-5 (2-5 SEC).
“We have made major strides this season and are capable of performing at a high level consistently,” UK Coach Tim Garrison said. “Tonight wasn’t a perfect night by any means, but we managed a respectable score in a tough loss.”
Worley was named the competition’s all-around champion with a 39.500 total, marking her fifth all-around victory of the season. Kentucky will open postseason play at the SEC Championship on March 20 in Huntsville, Ala.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 1:00 PM.