KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee volleyball fell behind two sets to none against top-five Kentucky on Wednesday night, then won the next three to pull off a reverse sweep at Food City Center. Kentucky took the opening sets 25-17 and 25-18, and Tennessee answered by winning the last three 25-19, 25-21 and 15-10.
It was the first time since 2005 that the No. 9 Lady Vols beat a top-five opponent, and the win stretched their streak to six matches. Tennessee is now 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC.
Kentucky controlled the start, hitting better than .450 as a team through the first two sets and never trailing in either one. Tennessee answered with a defensive turnaround, holding the Wildcats to .136 hitting over the final three sets and putting up four blocks during the closing stretch of the third set alone.
Middle blocker Chelsea Sutton paced Tennessee with a season-best 14 kills and no errors, plus two blocks. Kennedi Rogers posted 13 kills to go with a career-best 13 digs, Jalyn Stout added 13 kills and 10 digs, and setter Caroline Kerr handed out 46 assists with 10 digs. That gave Kerr the 30th double-double of her career, tying her for seventh in program history. Freshman Camille Perry came off the bench for six kills.
Both teams finished with 63 kills. Brooklyn DeLeye led Kentucky with 25 kills, with Asia Thigpen adding 12 and Morgan Gaerte 11, while Tennessee hit .429 across the final two sets. The Wildcats dropped to 15-4 and 7-2 in league play, falling out of first place in the SEC. It was only the second time since 2017 that Kentucky had been reverse swept.
Tennessee stays home to face No. 22 Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern on SEC Network. Kentucky hosts No. 19 Texas A&M the same day.
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