For the third-straight week, Kentucky setter Emma Grome was named the Southeastern Conference’s Setter of the Week, and for the second time in three weeks, was named the overall SEC Player of the Week as Kentucky took home four weekly honors, it was announced Monday afternoon.
In addition to Grome’s awards, Brooklyn DeLeye won her third-straight SEC Freshman of the Week honor and junior libero Eleanor Beavin was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Kentucky vaulted up five spots to No. 15 in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches’ Association top-25 poll, the biggest movers of the week nationally and currently sit tied atop the SEC with a 7-1 SEC record. UK also entered the top-20 of the RPI Monday afternoon, checking in at No. 16.
Junior setter Emma Grome guided the Kentucky offense to a .315 hitting percentage on the weekend and averaged 11.88 assists per set doing so as UK beat Mississippi State and No. 10 Arkansas. Grome had a three-set high assist number on the Friday night win over MSU as she logged 43 assists in the match and then added nine to that total Sunday afternoon as she pushed UK to a .305 hitting percentage with 52 assists against No. 10 Arkansas. Grome on the season now is averaging 11.77 assists per set and also had a kill in each match on her two chutes this weekend inside Rupp Arena.
Junior Eleanor Beavin set a new career high Sunday afternoon with a 30-dig performance as No. 20 Kentucky knocked off No. 10 Arkansas in a five-set thriller. Beavin for the week averaged a monster 5.13 digs per set, and now has logged 10+ digs in every match this season for the Wildcats, both in and out-of-conference. Beavin additionally had the match-winning bump set out of system on match point vs. Arkansas to junior Erin Lamb on the left side, as the third of her three assists in the match and five for the weekend.
Freshman Brooklyn DeLeye averaged 3.00 kills per set on the weekend with 17 kills to lead all UK players in a five-set upset of No. 10 Arkansas and a seven-kill performance vs. Mississippi State on Friday night. DeLeye played all the way around this weekend, logging a new career-high 17 digs vs. MSU along with zero reception errors in serve receive, even with her being targeted 10 times in the match. The freshman from Topeka, Kansas now has 10+ kills in seven of the nine SEC matches of the season, and that includes six of the last seven.
Kentucky plays at LSU on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET live on SEC Network with Kevin Barnett and Ci Michel on the call from inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
