Kentucky Volleyball falls 2-1 in scrimmage vs. Louisville

Kentucky Volleyball kicked off its 2022 spring session with an exhibition against their rivals on the other side of I-64. The ‘Cats and Cards squared off in Memorial Coliseum in front of a very strong crowd all things considered, though Louisville got the better of an under-manned UK squad with a 2-1 win in the three-set match. Let’s address the important points from Sunday’s scrimmage.

Roster Update

Kentucky simply wasn’t 100% against Louisville. The 2022 recruiting class is all still in high school, 2021 freshmen Jordyn Williams and Erin Lamb were sidelined due to injury and Kentucky only operated with two real outside hitters.

One of those hitters was Alli Stumler, last year’s All-American who suited up for the scrimmage but will not be a part of next year’s team. Without her, Reagan Rutherford would have been the only hitter in a UK uniform. So on that front, it stinks we didn’t get to see even close to a full ‘Cats squad offensively. Even if healthy, Kentucky still may need an incoming freshman to step up or to grab another player from the transfer portal to produce offenses similar to their last two seasons.

I was especially excited to see Erin Lamb, who shined in limited action as a freshman last fall and even won SEC Player of the Week when she led Kentucky’s offense over Tennessee on the road while filling in for Madi Skinner — who, if you recall, transferred to Texas following the 2021 season. But Lamb didn’t get the green light to play, unfortunately. The hitter position is easily Craig Skinner’s biggest question mark heading into 2022 and Sunday provided very few answers.

Offense

With just two hitters playing, Kentucky’s offense didn’t get to operate as they normally do during the season. However, UK’s deep rotation of middle blockers had plenty of chances to show what they can do on the attack. Azhani Tealer has been one of the nation’s most efficient hitters since she stepped foot on campus and she was throwing fireballs at the Louisville defense. That’s the Z we know. Bella Bell and Elise Goetzinger also got plenty of run as attacking options, and they were fine. But there’s a reason blockers don’t get set up as much as the primary hitters.

The one UK hitter that will be playing this fall, Reagan Rutherford, was force-fed a ton of opportunities and the results were up and down. She certainly had a handful of powerful kills and seemed to have more velocity on her attacks than last season. However, she also sailed several way over the defense and out of bounds. She wasn’t alone in that regard. Some of Kentucky’s attacks were pretty, pretty sloppy.

Defense

Coach Skinner said ahead of last season he expected Kentucky’s defense to be the best in program history. It was certainly a strong point in 2021 but I’m not sure the back row lived up to such lofty expectations. That group lost Lauren Tharp but did return freshman libero Eleanor Beavin and sophomore defensive specialist Riah Walker — they took turns as libero on Sunday. Beavin was excellent there as a freshman but I’m sure Skinner is keeping the job open if Walker impresses throughout the offseason. I’ve always said she may be the most talented defensive player UK has.

Walker made several impressive digs and saves on out-of-system plays. As did setter Emma Grome. The freshman All-American earned her accolades for her sets, but also because she is a heck of a defender during her back row rotations. Even if she wasn’t a setter, Grome would easily make the rotation as a back row specialist. Skinner has a gem in her. Those setters; he really knows how to pick ’em.

Scrimmage recap

The actual game was fairly competitive considering the state of Kentucky’s roster. Louisville had more hands-on-deck and resembled their program-best 2021 season a lot more than Kentucky did, and that showed on the scoreboard with the Cards winning.

Both coaches used the opportunity more to learn than win one over on their rival. Skinner frequently played two middle blockers at the net with Emma Grome, something you’ll never see in an actual volleyball game. I’m sure Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly experimented with her lineups as well.

And each of the sets was close down the stretch. Kentucky jumped on top early in the first before Louisville came back and pulled away for the win. Then Kentucky fell behind early in the next two sets but rallied to make it close at the end, losing the second before winning the third.

I’ll say, the 2021 team wasn’t as talented or elite as the title-winners of 2020-21, but they had a knack for rallying after falling behind against good teams. Unfortunately, most of their comeback efforts, while valiant, failed in getting the victory. They’d battle all the way back to the edge only to still fall off the cliff. In the third set, though, they fought back from down 19-13 to win it, leaving the strong Kentucky contingent in Memorial with smiles on their faces on the final play.

Kentucky takes the third set of today’s exhibition, but Louisville wins it 2-1. Cards the more complete roster at this point in the offseason but lots to like from the Cats that did play today. pic.twitter.com/KM0q6ce9DN

— Alex Weber (@alexweberKSR) March 27, 2022