UK Volleyball (8-0, ranked 4th) continues its season tonight vs. Arkansas

It’s been over two months since Kentucky Volleyball’s last match.  The last time we saw them in action, UK was putting the finishing touches on an 8-0 all-SEC slate last fall and demolished Mississippi State twice in two days right before the winter hiatus.

If you want a more in-depth reminder of just how dominant the currently fourth-ranked ‘Cats squad is, read up on my mid-season summary from November.

Craig Skinner may very well have his best club yet in his 16th season — one capable of winning the national championship in late April.

That isn’t a surprise. Coming into the season, Kentucky was tabbed as one of the frontrunners to win the NCAA Championship and was ranked fourth in the preseason poll. Their first eight games did nothing to discredit the hype. In fact, Kentucky has had arguably the most impressive season to date in college volleyball.

At one point they climbed up to No. 2 in the country in the coaches poll, and currently sit at No. 4, the same position they were in to start the year. Ahead of them is a Wisconsin team that’s only played two games, an admittedly impressive 14-0 Texas squad and a Stanford team that hasn’t even played yet.

Kentucky, members of one of the strongest conferences in the country, cake-walked through their eight-game SEC stand in the fall and did so mostly without star senior Avery Skinner.

Her younger sister, freshman Madi Skinner, made perhaps the biggest improvement of any player throughout the fall, and her accompanying class of freshmen (the No. 1 recruiting class in the country) was immediately impactful. First-year front-row players Bella Bell, Elise Goetzinger, Sophie Fischer, and even Reagan Rutherford before she also went down with an injury, picked up right where the elder Skinner sister left off: spiking and blocking every ball near the net. And back-row freshman Riah Walker was as impressive as anyone on the whole roster, filling a role as a defensive specialist.

🤗🤗🤗 pic.twitter.com/sYPjzwoDc3

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) January 24, 2021

With Avery Skinner down with an ankle injury, it wasn’t just the freshmen who stepped up at the net. Senior stalwart Alli Stumler assumed Skinner’s role as the primary power hitter. She leads the team in kills with 127, the only ‘Cat so far to tally 100 on the year. All-purpose sophomore Ahzani Tealer also provided a versatile, athletic skillset.

The steadiest group was the passers. Upperclassmen Lauren Tharp and Gabby Curry were rock solid in the backline alongside Walker, and at the setter spot, trusty senior Madison Lilley quarterbacks the entire team. I personally anointed her as the MVP of the team through eight games.

NOW, with the season rearing back up and Kentucky set to play 16 more games against exclusively SEC opponents, all the focus is on cleaning up the rest of the conference slate and preparing for the Big Dance later this spring — one that Kentucky will enter with possibly its highest-ever seed.

Getting everyone healthy will be important, but so will continuing to develop the youngsters for the pressure of the tournament. It’s one thing to beat up on a woefully out-matched Auburn squad in straight sets, but the talent that teams such as Nebraska or Stanford roll out will present an entirely new challenge.

The campaign for the greatest volleyball season in UK history continues tonight at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+ against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Like with the fall, I’ll have a recap up later tonight detailing (hopefully) another big SEC win. Also, likewise to the fall, Kentucky will be playing two-game series with each of their opponents. So after the game tonight, the volleyball ‘Cats will turn around and suit right back up for another match on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on the regular SEC Network.

I hope you’ll join me tonight in tuning in to watch the best sports team on campus.

Go Cats! Beat the ‘Backs!

SECond season. 😸🏐 pic.twitter.com/6D63xnCgIF

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) January 29, 2021