Dec. 5, 2025, 9:48 p.m. ET
For Big Blue Nation, Friday night was a mixed bag. The men’s basketball team suffered one of the worst losses in recent memory, falling to Gonzaga by 35 points. However, the Kentucky Wildcats women’s volleyball team continued to roll, beating the UCLA Bruins in round two of the NCAA Tournament 3-1 (30-28, 25-16, 28-30, 25-17).
Brooklyn DeLeye was unstoppable in the match, recording 30 kills with a .397 hit percentage. Eva Hudson was right behind her with 2 kills of her own on a .463 hit percentage. Asia Thigpen and Lizzie Carr each had 4 blocks, while Kassie O’Brien had an incredible 60 assists.
There was plenty of drama in the match. Set one saw UCLA jump out to a 5-1 lead, but Kentucky bounced back and went up 11-8. Then, it was back and forth til DeLeye got back to back kills to win the set 30-28.
Set two saw the Cats pull out to a lead early. They led 14-12 when they rattled of seven straight points. They’d take it 25-16.
UCLA got back into it by winning set three. Kentucky led most of the way, and had match point at 24-22. However, the Bruins roared back and would win it 30-18.
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The Wildcats closed it out in set four, however. UCLA stayed close until it was 12-11. Then Kentucky began to pull away. They’d win the set 25-17.
Kentucky moves on to the Sweet 16 now and await their opponent. They’ll find out who it is later on Friday.