The No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats defeated the LSU Tigers in straight sets on Sunday in the PMAC.

Kentucky’s offense was led by senior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, who had 20 kills and 11 digs. The Wildcats stayed persistent with their pressure throughout the game, using a balance of attacking on offense and maintaining a strong defense to help control the tempo.

Although they fell short Sunday afternoon, LSU Volleyball Head Coach Tonya Johnson remained confident in her team.

“I’ve said all season long that this team is pretty resilient,” Johnson stated.

The Tigers fought a good battle throughout the matchup. Kentucky took the first set 25-22, establishing a lead early on in the game.

LSU then responded with improvements in the start of the second set, but Kentucky edged them out 25-18. The Wildcats closed out the match by securing the third set in a very close round, with a final score of 25-23.

The Tigers delivered strong kills and fought to keep their pace, but struggled to convert key opportunities. LSU junior outside hitter Jurnee Robinson had a total of 20 kills throughout the afternoon. Coming off a season high of 34 kills against Florida.

For LSU, sophomore middle blocker Jessica Jones was a key contributor throughout the game. Finishing the match with 7 kills and 5 block assists, led to several critical points. Despite the loss, Jones remained positive about her team’s improvements.

“I think for us it was just all about our mentality and staying consistent. Not letting what they were doing on the other side of the net affect us, keeping that competitive mentality throughout the whole game. Although it didn’t end how we wanted, I think we improved throughout the match,” Jones stated.

With big SEC matchups starting to roll into the Tigers’ schedule, it’s important that they keep working on improving.