(
WKYT) – Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner reached a career milestone Saturday night, securing his 500th career victory as No. 3 Kentucky swept South Florida 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) to conclude the Bluegrass Battle inside Memorial Coliseum.
Skinner, now in his 22nd season with the Wildcats, is the winningest coach in program history. With the victory, the Muncie, Indiana native became only the second coach in Southeastern Conference history to reach 500 wins at one school, joining Florida’s Mary Wise. Skinner, who took over the Kentucky program in 2005, has guided the Wildcats to nine consecutive SEC championships and the 2020 NCAA national title.
Kentucky (3-1) overcame a slow offensive start to hit .277 as a team, led by Brooklyn DeLeye’s 12 kills. Lizzie Carr added 10 kills while hitting .421. Setter Kassie O’Brien recorded 33 assists, and Molly Tuozzo anchored the defense with 10 digs.
After hitting just .067 in the opening set, the Wildcats used a late 6-0 run behind Asia Thigpen’s service to capture the first frame 25-18, holding the Bulls (0-2) to a -.077 hitting percentage. Kentucky found its offensive rhythm in the second set, hitting .429 to cruise to a 25-16 win.
In the third set, South Florida jumped out to a 13-10 lead before Kentucky responded with a 7-0 scoring run on O’Brien’s serve, ultimately closing out the match on a final kill by DeLeye.
Kentucky will host UCLA on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT in the opening match of the SEC/Big Ten Challenge, which will be broadcast on ESPN2. South Florida returns to action Sunday against Utah State inside Memorial Coliseum.