Kentucky VB earns No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Cleveland State in opener

Craig Skinner and the Kentucky Wildcats know their path to another national championship. After winning the program’s eighth-straight SEC championship and the fifth outright in that stretch, the Cats earned a No. 3 seed in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Selection Sunday.

Kentucky, who finished the regular season 20-7 record and 14-2 in the SEC with 11 consecutive match victories to end the year, will take on Cleveland State in the opening round on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Wildcats will host the Vikings inside Historic Memorial Coliseum with the match broadcast live on ESPN+.

No. 6 seed Minnesota will take on Western Kentucky immediately before the Cats’ opener at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 5, which will also be on ESPN+. Should UK win, the second-round matchup is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Get your dancing shoes on🥳#LetsDance 💃🏻🏐 pic.twitter.com/LNqCtwqc0q

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) December 1, 2024

The complete 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament bracket was released during ESPN’s selection show at 6 p.m. ET.

Kentucky outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was named the 2024 SEC Player of the Year while Craig Skinner was named the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year, the league office also announced Sunday.

Elsewhere, DeLeye was joined by Emma Grome on the All-SEC First Team while Molly Tuozzo was voted by the coaches to the All-SEC Second Team. Asia Thigpen and Brooke Bultema were also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team to round out season accolades.

Quite the day for Kentucky volleyball ahead of what could potentially be quite the week for the program.

The road to a second championship in four years begins now.