The Kentucky volleyball team has come a long way since their early struggles this season. After a tough loss to Tennessee in September, the team fell to a 3-7 record. But they never gave up and continued to work hard, and their perseverance has paid off.
Since that loss to Tennessee, the Wildcats have won an impressive 16 consecutive matches and claimed their seventh consecutive Southeastern Conference title. Their hard work was rewarded once again when they were selected to host an NCAA Volleyball Tournament regional at Rupp Arena this week, something that seemed unlikely just two months ago.
Kentucky earned the eighth overall seed in the tournament and will face Wofford in the first round of the event on Thursday. If they win, they will face the winner of the match between James Madison and Baylor in the Lexington Regional.
Head coach Craig Skinner has been impressed with his team’s improvement throughout the season and believes they are peaking at the right time. He knows that his team has the ability to advance in the NCAA Tournament because they do many things well.
“The positive things about this group are that we’re pretty balanced, so we have a lot of people who can score, we’re getting better defensively, which helps compliment our offense, we’re serving well,” Skinner said. “To make a big run in the tournament, you have to be good in all phases.”
Skinner also believes that the team’s 16-match win streak can serve as motivation and preparation for the NCAA Tournament. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the present and continuing to improve.
“Just continuing to win today and win tomorrow and we’ve always done a really good job of that,” Skinner said. “There’s still things out there we want to improve. Our team understands that you can’t overlook anything and you can’t look past today.”
Kentucky also benefits from having several players with championship experience from their 2020 NCAA Championship team, as well as juniors who have played in many big matches. Skinner believes that this experience will be valuable in the tournament.
“Experience always helps in the tournament, and being in situations,” Skinner said. “Even the experience of playing the tough preconference schedule we had, playing in tough environments against really good teams, being able to boil it down to winning this point and being the best we can. Having people who have played in tough matches, played for conference championships, played in the NCAA Tournament is certainly a benefit.”
Overall, Kentucky’s hard work and dedication have paid off with a 16-match winning streak, an eighth national seed, and the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The team stuck with their plan and continued to improve throughout the season, and now they have a chance to make a deep run in the tournament.
