LEXINGTON Ky. - Trailing by 13 pints entering the final day of competition, the Big Blue Nation of lifesavers came through with 803 donations on Friday and pulled out another Big Blue Crush blood drive win by defeating Tennessee, 3,160 to 3,107.

This was the third year in a row that Kentucky fans won the annual blood battle, and after 25 years of competing, the score is now even with 12 wins each and one tie.

“This is the sweetest victory yet. Thanks to our dedicated donors we now have a good blood supply heading into the holidays, and as an added bonus we beat the Vols for the third year in a row,” said Martha Osborne, Executive Director of Marketing and Recruitment for the Kentucky Blood Center.

“We appreciate everyone who helped us spread the word through conventional and social media,” Osborne said. “This was definitely a team effort and a fun week.”