Box Score WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Washington State volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a dominating upset sweep of No. 24 Kentucky Friday afternoon at the Purdue Mortar Board Premier tournament in a very hot and steamy Holloway Gymnasium at West Lafayette, Ind.
 
WSU took the win with set scores of 25-17, 25-22, and 25-17. The last time WSU defeated a ranked team was in October 2015 with a 3-0 win over No. 5 Arizona State while the last time WSU defeated a non-Pac-12 Conference ranked team was in 2009 when the Cougars defeated No. 17 Utah 3-0, not yet Pac-12 members. The last time WSU scored a road win over a ranked team was in 2013, a 3-2 win over No. 23 California. Kentucky's last loss to a non-SEC non-ranked team was last year, a 3-2 loss at Wichita State.
 
Senior outside hitter Kyra Holt led WSU with 10 kills and 10 digs, while hitting .409, serving a pair of aces and tallying three blocks. Holt, Preseason All-Pac-12 selection became the sixth Cougar to reach 1,300 kills and her career total is now 1,303 kills, sixth-best in WSU all-time records. Sophomore McKenna Woodford added nine kills, junior Casey Schoenlein added seven kills (.357) and senior Haley Bethune and sophomore Taylor Mims each had six kills. Mims led the match with six blocks with Ella Lajos and Bethune each contributing five blocks. Freshman Alexis Dirige led the match with 13 digs. Senior Haley MacDonald set up 19 assists while junior transfer Nicole Rigoni added 17 assists.
 
No. 24 Kentucky was led by Leah Edmond's 12 kills while Anni Thomasson had 11 kills. Ashley Dusek had 11 digs and Olivia Dailey had 30 assists and the Wildcats' lone service ace.
 
WSU out-hit Kentucky .322 to .176 after opening with a first set .419 hitting percentage, out-blocked UK 11 to 3, and out-served them 5 to 1.
 
"I was really proud of the way this team as a whole, especially the seniors, came out today: very poised, aggressive, ready to do business. I feel like it was that attitude of really being focused," WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said. "Playing in the Pac-12 we get that kind of experience all the time but you never know how (the team) is going to come out in the first set of the season and we came out really well. We've been talking about how we can start strong and get going from the very beginning and we did that very, very well today.
 
"It was exciting to try something new and go to a 6-2 instead of a 5-1 and I thought both setters did very well," Greeny said. "We have so many great hitters, especially our two right-sides Hailey Bethune and Casey Schoenlein, who have been playing really well so to be able to get them both playing time has been great. Kyra was definitely steady all morning and we hope to get the same from her tonight."
 
WSU (1-0) takes on host team, No. 20 Purdue (1-0), at 4:30 PT today. The Boilermakers opened the season with a 29-27, 25-16, 25-17 win over Wyoming earlier Friday.