Familiar faces: Kentucky falls on a special night inside Memorial Coliseum

While the final score will show you that Kentucky was beaten at home by Athletes Unlimited 4-0, it won’t tell you the complete story. The final score won’t tell you about the dominance of ex-Wildcats. It won’t tell you about the surge in energy from the bench that the ‘Cats brought. Finally, the final score won’t tell you that Kentucky faced a professional squad on Thursday evening.

Athletes Unlimited, a culmination of professional volleyball players from some of this country’s top volleyball programs, came to play. A familiar pair was leading the charge for AU. That would be the ex-Wildcat duo of Kaz Brown and Leah Edmond. Both were phenomenal Thursday night in their win over the ‘Cats. Edmond led all scorers with 14 kills and Brown recorded a match-high six blocks. Clearly, neither Brown nor Edmond have lost a step.

The former ‘Cats were appreciative of their opportunity to play inside of Memorial Coliseum again and they were full of praise towards the program that Coach Craig Skinner has built over the years. Some credit absolutely has to go to Brown and Edmond, who have as much to do with Kentucky volleyball as anyone else, considering their impressive individual careers. Both gave advice to the current Kentucky team and to future teams.

“Pressure is a privilege. It’s a privilege to be in a position where people expect you to be in the tournament one, and expect you to advance. So, I think that’s something you can take pride in and I think that that’s something you can use to be confident. There’s so much talent on this team and I know that they’re still finding their footing but I think they’ve got a lot of really exciting things ahead,” said Brown postgame.

Tough task to start

Kentucky came out in the first set with loads of energy and were matching up great against Athletes Unlimited. Reagan Rutherford opened the scoring with a trademark left-handed kill to which Edmond responded with one of her own two points later. Kentucky caught fire quickly in the first set with Erin Lamb also joining the party with a couple kills as the ‘Cats led 6-1 early. Athletes Unlimited went on a rapid 5-0 run to tie the first set. Edmond and Brown combined for a block during the scoring run.

The scoring kept on coming for AU, which jumped out to 14-8 lead which forced Coach Skinner to use his second timeout of the first set. A big Azhani Tealer block helped the Wildcats cut the AU lead to 18-12, but it wouldn’t last. Every time Kentucky was able to win a point, AU was able to respond with a mini-run of their its own. The Edmond-Brown connection was too much in the first frame, as AU took the opener 25-15.

The momentum wouldn’t stop for the visitors. AU jumped out to a 6-2 lead to start the second set, as Coach Skinner burned his first timeout of the set. Oklahoma transfer, Megan Wilson, snagged her second kill of the match with a blast that got Kentucky within four points.

It felt as if Brown was serving for forever in the second set. The visitors wouldn’t take their foot off the gas, forcing Kentucky to call its second timeout of the set, trailing 13-4. Even with AU pulling away in the second, Lamb was playing exceptional. She was the team leader in kills with the ‘Cats down nine points in the second set. Despite Lamb’s efforts, Athletes Unlimited won the second set and jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead.

Much to be excited about

Jordyn Williams checked in for Kentucky in the third set. She gave the squad some much needed energy, recording a block and a kill. The energy stayed high within the new faces, as Haley Melby got on the board with a kill. Rutherford’s fourth kill then made it 7-3 UK. Melby and Rutherford continued to heat up throughout the third set. Eventually, Kentucky forced AU into a timeout with the ‘Cats up 13-7. The Wildcats were able to maintain their lead after an attack error from the visitors. Tealer’s ferocious kill, followed by Lamb’s slam, extended the Kentucky lead to 21-14 in the third.

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Kentucky was up 24-19 in the third set, one point away from forcing a fourth set. Like lightning in a cornfield, AU mustered together a 7-0 run out of nowhere. The visitors won seven straight points to stun the Wildcats and take the third set. It was truly one of the most shocking things I have witnessed while covering volleyball. I guess, that’s why they’re the professionals.

Both squads agreed to play a fourth set with the visitors up 3-0 on the night. Leah Edmond went into her bag of tricks to open the fourth set. Her ace put AU up 4-2 early. Edmond then blasted her 11th kill of the night making it 7-2 to the visitors. Melby snatched her fifth kill of the evening with Kentucky down 12-10. She made a tremendous effect off the bench for the squad, which should excite many considering she’s only a freshman. Williams kept on impacting the match any way she could. A sweet solo block cut Kentucky’s deficit to three point late in the fourth set. Edmond continued to punish Kentucky till the end, and AU won the fourth and final set, 25-21.

Something sentimental

While Edmond and Brown’s return to Lexington was thrilling to see, Kentucky put on a solid performance. The ex-Wildacts had stupendous individual nights, but don’t let that take away from some of the outings from the current Wildcats.

Melby and Williams reinvigorated the match when they came in. Off the bench, this duo was helping the team anyway they could. Williams finished the match with four kills and five blocks while Melby added seven kills. Lamb and Rutherford had massive offensive nights, combining for 23 kills. The offense looks as dangerous as ever, even if it was just an offseason match.

Coach Skinner was aware of the opponent he scheduled on Thursday night and realizes what it does for the program moving forward.

“If we played teams that we would serve the ball over and they hit the ball out of bounds, and we win. We don’t learn anything about ourselves. We need to play teams like this (Athletes Unlimited), that force you into executing,” said Skinner post-match.

Finally, this was the last match Kentucky played inside Memorial Coliseum before the building gets renovated. Coach Skinner mentioned the memories that Memorial stores. The ‘Cats will return to Memorial after renovation, but the thought that this accomplished program leaves its home for a short period, is emotional.

Emotions aside, the Wildcats have two more matches this offseason. One against Purdue, the other against Pittsburgh. The Boilermakers are Kentucky’s next opponent on Thursday, April 6. Let the offseason volleyball tour roll on. What a night it was inside of Memorial Coliseum.