Nate Sestina, Madison Lilley announce engagement

Two former Kentucky sports stars are tying the knot. Yesterday, Madison Lilley and Nate Sestina announced their engagement on Instagram. Lilley, the 2020-21 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association National Player of the Year and 2020 NCAA Champion, recently joined Kentucky Volleyball’s staff as an assistant coach, while Sestina just wrapped his third season with Türk Telekom, a Turkish pro basketball team. The pair met and started dating after Sestina transferred to Kentucky from Bucknell for the 2019-20 season.

“For all of my days,” Lilley wrote on Instagram with a series of photos of Sestina popping the big question.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Madison Lilley (@mplilley03)

Sestina was spotted in Lexington last week. John Calipari posed for a picture with his former player in the Joe Craft Center, giving him grief for wearing Bucknell gear.

“Can you believe this guy wearing a Bucknell shirt in my gym!?!” Calipari joked. “Always great to see Nate Sestina!!”

“My UK stuff is in the wash!” Sestina responded.

My UK stuff is in the wash!😂

— Nate Sestina (@NateSestina23) June 26, 2023

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Madison Lilley joins Kentucky Volleyball’s staff

What a summer for Lilley, who became Craig Skinner’s third full-time assistant on July 1. She will work in all aspects of the program including recruiting, day-to-day operations, scouting, working with the setters, and more. The career move comes after a professional stint in France, where she played for the Beziers Angel and won a French league gold medal.

Lilley was a member of four straight SEC Championship-winning teams (2017-2020/21) and won SEC Player of the Year in 2020 during Kentucky’s NCAA Championship campaign. In 2020 alone, Lilley averaged 12.37 assists per set and was named the sport of volleyball’s first-ever SEC Athlete of the Year winner. She won the HONDA Award for the sport’s top athlete in 2020-21, while also winning AVCA Region Player of the Year and National Player of the Year.

“When I heard there would be a staff opening at Kentucky, it felt too good to be true,” Lilley said. “I had such an incredible experience as a collegiate athlete at the University of Kentucky and I am so excited to continue to build on that amazing culture. We will continue to be focused on guiding amazing people and volleyball players towards their goals. Go Cats!”

“We are pumped to have Madison join our staff,” Skinner said. “Her career as an All-American, national champion, and years playing professional volleyball will be a huge asset to our program and players. Talking to her during the process, she expressed how playing pro really helped her understand the value of coaching and the type of impact you can have on people in that role. Having another alumna back in the program also means a great deal to me and we are all excited to get to work this summer.”

Congrats to Lilley and Sestina on the big news!