No. 4 Kentucky Volleyball Gets Reverse Swept at Tennessee. Now Comes the Texas A&M Rematch.

BBN, that one stings. Kentucky volleyball had Tennessee right where it wanted them Wednesday night in Knoxville, and then it got away.

Per UK Athletics, the Cats (No. 4 in the latest AVCA poll) won the first two sets 25-17 and 25-18, hitting over .450 as a team, before No. 9 Tennessee took the next three 25-19, 25-21 and 15-10. Kentucky never led in the fourth or fifth set. The Lady Vols hit .429 combined in those two frames while UK managed just one block. It's the first time Kentucky has been reverse swept this season, and only the second time since 2017.

Brooklyn DeLeye did everything she could with a season-high 25 kills on 53 swings (.321), per KSR and UK Athletics. Asia Thigpen added 12 kills, Morgan Gaerte had 11 and setter Kassie O’Brien finished with 47 assists. The loss knocks Kentucky out of first place in the SEC at 15-4 overall and 7-2 in league play.

Our Take: The first two sets showed what this team is. Sets three through five showed what it has to clean up, starting with the passing that UK Athletics said struggled in the fourth and a block that disappeared late. One road loss to a top-10 team doesn't change the ceiling, but it makes Sunday a lot bigger.

What to watch: No. 19 Texas A&M comes to Historic Memorial Coliseum at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC, a rematch of the 2026 national championship match. Watch the serve-receive early and whether the block shows up when it gets tight. Pack Memorial, BBN.

Sources: AVCA poll via NCAA.com, UK Athletics, Kentucky Sports Radio