‘A unique season.’ Kentucky volleyball poised to continue historic SEC success.
At this time last year, rest was the key topic surrounding the Kentucky volleyball program.
The Cats had just won their first national championship in April 2021, capping a COVID-delayed season and allowing precious little time to rest before a new campaign.
While Kentucky recorded a remarkable fifth straight SEC championship last fall, the Cats were quickly dispatched in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at home by Illinois.
Now, following a normal offseason schedule and significant roster movement, head coach Craig Skinner and the Wildcats are set to embark on another highly anticipated volleyball season in Lexington.
“One of our favorite times of the year as coaches is the winter and the spring because you see people evolve and do things that they haven’t done before,” Skinner said Tuesday afternoon during the team’s media day inside Memorial Coliseum. “It’s definitely a unique season for us in a lot of ways. We have a third of our team that’s never been here before, a third is really experienced and (the rest) somewhere in between.”
Now in his 18th season as UK head coach and with more than 400 wins at UK to his name, there’s little that Skinner hasn’t experienced at the college level.
But his task this season comes in replacing top-end talent like outside hitters Madi Skinner (UK’s kills leader from last season who transferred to Texas in January) and Alli Stumler (second on UK last season in total kills and kills per set and lost to graduation).
“We want to have six or seven things that opponents have to prepare for, not just two or three or four,” Craig Skinner said about replacing the offensive production of Skinner and Stumler. “Last year they probably could have watched our video in a half-hour. Hopefully this year they have to watch it for three-and-a-half hours.”
The leading candidate to step up both on the court and in a leadership role is senior middle blocker Azhani Tealer.
A 2021 All-SEC selection, Tealer led Kentucky in hitting percentage last season (43.3%) and was third on the team in both total kills (271) and kills per set (2.61), behind Skinner and Stumler.
“The transition to the middle after my freshman year and working with (associate head coach Anders Nelson) and Craig ... playing more efficiently, it’s been really good for me,” Tealer, who was named to the All-SEC Preseason Team, said. “To try to keep up that level of production is going to be really good for us and hopefully it helps us win more.”
Plenty is also expected from the three other UK players selected to the All-SEC Preseason Team: Sophomore libero Eleanor Beavin, sophomore setter Emma Grome and junior opposite Reagan Rutherford.
Kentucky was picked to win the SEC again in the preseason coaches’ poll, with the Wildcats earning 10 of 13 first-place votes.
The Cats will begin the 2022 season ranked No. 11 in the nation in the preseason AVCA coaches poll.
Roster changes for the Wildcats
There are six players on the UK roster this season who have not appeared in a match before for the Cats.
True freshmen Haley Melby (outside hitter) and Audrey Whitworth (a libero), along with redshirt freshman middle blocker Jordyn Williams (missed all of 2021 season due to an Achilles injury) represent the youth.
Incoming transfers sophomore Lane Jenkins (a setter who played her first season at Loyola-Chicago, but went to Lafayette High School in Lexington), fifth-year Adanna Rollins (an outside hitter previously at Minnesota and Penn State) and fifth-year Kelly Franxman (an outside hitter previously at Xavier) represent the experience.
UK lost three players to graduation from last year’s team: Cameron Scheitzach, Stumler and Lauren Tharp.
Kentucky also lost two players to transfer this offseason: Outside hitters Skinner (Texas) and Sophie Fischer (Georgia).
The loss of Skinner is significant. Last season, Skinner averaged a Kentucky team-best 3.78 kills per set and led the Cats in total kills with 389.
Skinner had 19 kills in UK’s national-title match victory over Texas, her new team, in April 2021.
Standout home matches this season
In short, the Kentucky volleyball schedule is loaded this season, particularly when it comes to non-conference home matches.
UK has a stretch of six straight home matches from Sept. 9 through Sept. 25. During that span, four of the six matches are non-conference contests, and three of them are against Final Four teams from last year’s NCAA Tournament.
The visits of defending national champion Wisconsin (Sept. 9), Louisville (Sept. 14) and Nebraska (Sept. 18) offer marquee opportunities for Skinner’s team to test itself before SEC play and ensure a quality RPI when it comes time for the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve never shied away from playing tough teams and this is no exception,” Skinner said. “The goal of the schedule is always to try and put yourself in position to play your best volleyball in November, December. I think this schedule will obviously get us to that point.”
It also offers UK a chance at revenge: The Wildcats lost road matches at Wisconsin and Louisville last season.
Skinner said Tuesday that Kentucky will play at Nebraska next season.
This weekend
Friday
7 p.m.: Marquette at Kentucky (SEC Network Plus)
Sunday
4 p.m.: Ohio at Kentucky (SEC Network)
2022 UK volleyball schedule
(Home matches in all capital letters. All times Eastern.)
Aug. 26: MARQUETTE, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Aug. 28: OHIO, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sept. 2: Northern Iowa, 6 p.m.-x
Sept. 3: Creighton, 11:30 a.m.-x (FloSports)
Sept. 3: Southern California, 6 p.m.-x
Sept. 9: WISCONSIN, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sept. 10: INDIANA STATE, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sept. 14: LOUISVILLE, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sept. 18: NEBRASKA, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sept. 24: LSU, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sept. 25: LSU, Noon (SEC Network)
Sept. 28: At Missouri, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 1: ALABAMA, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 7: At Arkansas, 8 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 8: At Arkansas, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 12: OLE MISS, 8 p.m. (SEC Network)
Oct. 22: At Texas A&M, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 23: At Texas A&M, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Oct. 29: AUBURN, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Oct. 30: AUBURN, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 2: At Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 11: At Mississippi State, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
Nov. 16: TENNESSEE, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 19: At Florida, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 20: At Florida, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
Nov. 25: SOUTH CAROLINA, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 26: SOUTH CAROLINA, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
x-Matches played in Omaha, Nebraska
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 10:44 AM.
