‘Dreams can become reality.’ UK volleyball unveils NCAA banner, celebrates title.
With the banner revealed in the top deck of Memorial Coliseum, Craig Skinner’s realized dream became permanently etched in Kentucky athletics lore.
The reminder of Kentucky’s first national title in volleyball now resides on the north side of Memorial Coliseum, opposite the arena’s videoboard.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey, University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and University of Kentucky Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart all took part in on-court events with Kentucky team members prior to the banner unveiling.
On Friday night, it was 133 days since Kentucky volleyball became national champions, sweeping Texas aside in four sets to become the first SEC school to win an NCAA volleyball title, and capping a season in which the Wildcats went 24-1 overall and became the 11th college program to win an NCAA volleyball title.
But while time has passed, having an enduring reminder of last season’s triumph remained important to Skinner, who also won an NCAA championship as an assistant coach at Nebraska in 2000.
“This is a place where dreams can become reality. It was a hell of a lot of work for a lot of people and coaches and players that came before us,” Skinner said prior to the banner ceremony. “For us to be able to hang that banner for the university is very special and we’ll never take it for granted.”
Friday night’s banner ceremony inside Memorial Coliseum occurred just moments before Kentucky’s home opener for the 2021 season against Northern Iowa, part of this weekend’s Bluegrass Battle non-conference tournament.
The crowd at Memorial Coliseum for the ceremony and match filled most of the arena’s lower bowl.
While Friday’s ceremony didn’t feature any in-person appearances from former Wildcats who were part of the championship team — such as libero Gabby Curry, setter Madison Lilley and outside hitter Avery Skinner — the ceremony did feature a video presentation commemorating Kentucky’s time in last season’s NCAA Tournament, which was held in April in a “bubble” in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Someone asked me if I was going to smile or have a tear in my eyes. I said ‘hopefully both,’” Skinner said of the ceremony. “I still get goosebumps thinking about the accomplishments of our program and team last year ... all our staff, from assistant coaches to trainers and strength trainers and all the former players that get a chance to look at that banner and know they’re a small piece of it is very special.”
Friday was also the public unveiling of Kentucky’s new volleyball court.
A new Taraflex playing surface for volleyball was installed at Memorial Coliseum this week.
It’s the same surface used for volleyball at the Summer Olympic Games.
Kentucky entered its first home weekend a perfect 3-0 on the young season, having won each of its opening weekend matches in straight sets against Texas State, Dayton and Cincinnati.
This season’s Kentucky team is in the process of creating its own identity, with returning stars like senior outside hitter Alli Stumler learning to play alongside promising newcomers like freshman setter Emma Grome.
But while that process plays out, Skinner said his team will still embrace the historic success of last season’s Wildcats.
“We’re not going to shy away from celebrating the national championship with this current team,” Skinner said. “We know the 2021 team has their own identity to create, but we’re going to be proud of that result and proud of representing the university. That’s another way that we can give to the university and say that we’re going to do everything we can to do it again.”
Winning a national championship naturally has increased interest in the Kentucky program.
The Wildcats have 11 nationally televised matches scheduled for this season.
As of Wednesday, the program had sold 1,094 season tickets for the 2021 season, up from 839 season tickets sold for the 2019 season.
“I never got into coaching to win national championships. I got in it to see people do things they’ve never done before,” Skinner said. “So now that as a program we’ve done something that’s never been done before is pretty special.”
Kentucky, which has won four straight SEC volleyball championships, is now firmly among the hunted, rather than the hunters, in elite college volleyball.
“Megan (Skinner’s wife) and I were begging our neighbors to come, and anyone that we’d meet at the kids’ school and stuff like that, to come and watch volleyball and see what it’s all about,” Skinner said of when he took the Kentucky job in December 2004. “I think we played Wright State my first match and there was about 75 people in the stands in 2005. It’s incredible and it’s an awesome feeling to be part of something special right now. The tough part is sustaining it and continuing on.”
Junior middle blocker Azhani Tealer is one of the Kentucky upperclassmen helping guide the transition from a championship season into a new campaign, with the same end goal.
“It happened, and we loved the time we spent celebrating that and we may still be celebrating that,” Tealer said. “But it’s time to kind of start looking to this new season.”
▪ Kentucky defeated Northern Iowa 3-0 on Friday night, winning by scores of 25-5, 25-17 and 25-19.
▪ On Saturday morning, the Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Creighton, 25-19, 25-22 and 27-25 in Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky was to take on Southern California on Saturday night.
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 8:27 PM.
