[ad_1]
Kentucky honored its volleyball senior class before Friday’s match against South Carolina. And senior honoree Azani Teller responded at the ceremony with a record-breaking performance.
Tiller set a new UK record for block assists in a match as the Cats literally blocked South Carolina’s upset hopes Saturday, defeating the Gamecocks 25-17, 25-12, 25-21 on Senior Day.
The Grand Prairie, Texas, native had 13 block assists in the match, breaking the previous record of 12 held by four players, the last of whom was Queen Nzenwa, who had 12 against Arkansas in 2007. Tiller added seven kills for good measure. .
After the emotions of the senior day ceremony, Tiller knew she needed to gather her emotions and focus on the task at hand.
“It’s super emotional. Bella (Bell) and Maddie (Berezowitz) have been with me since day one and that’s why I wanted to do (Senior Day) with them,” Tiller said. “After that whole thing, we got into the match and I said Was like, ‘You have to lock in now,’ I was still wiping tears from my eyes. It was hard to get it together.”
A casual observer would guess that Tiller has no such problem. By the time the Cats claimed the second set, Tiller already had 10 block assists and the record was within reach. Tiller’s five block assists came on a 12-0 Kentucky run in the second set, which turned a 9-4 deficit into a 16-9 lead. Has she ever played a match like Friday?
“No, obviously,” she said. “I want to take credit for a lot of that but a lot of it was Emma (Grom) and Rebo (Reagan Rutherford) and Erin (Lamb) and Adanna (Rollins), they did a really good job on their blocking assignments. So it made it really easy for us today.”
The UK serve was also an important factor in the block game. It doesn’t seem like it’s possible, but sophomore libero Eleanor Bevin knows it can be.
“Yes, this goal of serving is to get them out of system and make the floor defense easier, easier to block,” Bevin said. “They don’t have as much range when they’re outside the net. Credit to serving today for sure.
The UK head coach was pleased with his team’s performance on Friday and even more pleased with how the Cats’ blocking has improved this season.
“We’re definitely a lot more disciplined blocking right now,” Skinner said. “Blocking and passing are two of the hardest skills to master in volleyball and it took us a little longer this year.”
With the win, Kentucky will now have a chance to share the Southeastern Conference title for at least a sixth season if they can win against South Carolina on Saturday. But Tiller knows that’s not a given, despite Friday’s results.
“They’re not going to give it to us, we’re going to have to go get it,” Tiller said. “We have to come out more prepared and more intense tomorrow and go take it from them because that team can play better. We are excited for the opportunity to play for (the title) tomorrow.”
Tiller and his teammates put the Cats in position to do just that with an impressive performance on Friday.
[ad_2]
Source link
