Kentucky volleyball invites national power to Rupp and faces 12 NCAA tourney teams in 2023
.JPG "The Kentucky volleyball team opens its 2023 season on Aug. 25-26 with back-to-back matches in Colorado.")
The University of Kentucky volleyball team will face two of last year’s Final Four squads along with 10 other schools that qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament as part of a 26-match 2023 schedule announced Monday.
Kentucky will play all 10 of its home games in Rupp Arena this season while its traditional on-campus home, Memorial Coliseum, undergoes renovations.
The Wildcats won their sixth consecutive Southeastern Conference championship last season on the way to earning a No. 3 regional seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament. Kentucky was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by regional No. 2 seed San Diego and finished its season 22-8 overall and 15-3 in the SEC.
Coach Craig Skinner, who led UK to the 2020-21 NCAA championship, enters his 19th season in Lexington in 2023 with an all-time record of 423-139.
As usual, Skinner drew up a schedule that will test the Wildcats against some of the nation’s finest competition.
The highlight of the 2023 slate is a home-and-home matchup with Pittsburgh, which advanced to last season’s NCAA semifinals. The Wildcats will host the Panthers on Friday, Sept. 1 for their home opener then visit Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 3.
Kentucky’s annual rivalry matchup with Louisville at the KFC Yum Center on Sept. 13 pits the Wildcats against another of last year’s top teams. The Cardinals finished 31-3 after falling to top-seed Texas in the NCAA finals, Louisville’s second straight appearance in the Final Four. Kentucky leads the all-time series 31-27 but has lost two in a row to its archrivals.
During the non-conference portion of its schedule, UK will also take on 2022 NCAA Tournament teams Northern Colorado, Houston, Purdue and Nebraska. Like Kentucky, Nebraska and Houston both reached the Sweet 16.
UK’s conference schedule includes matches against NCAA tourney teams Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee.
The season gets underway Aug. 25 when Kentucky visits Colorado State.
Kentucky begins its 18-match SEC slate Sept. 22 at home against LSU.
The SEC will be returning to its pre-COVID scheduling rotation for the 2023 season for the first time since 2019. There will be no more back-to-back series with teams playing the same opponent within a two-day timeframe, as the coaches voted to go back to random scheduling.
In league play, Kentucky will face Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas A&M at home.
UK will visit Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.
More information will be released soon about matchday operations for Rupp Arena including seating assignments and parking information.
Season ticket details will be announced later this spring.
Match times and TV assignments will be set this summer by ESPN and its television partners.
2023 Kentucky volleyball schedule
Home matches in all capital letters.
All home matches in Rupp Arena.
Aug. 25: At Colorado State
Aug. 26: At Northern Colorado
Sept. 1: PITTSBURGH
Sept. 3: At Pittsburgh
Sept. 8: Houston-1
Sept. 9: SMU or Purdue-1
Sept. 13: At Louisville-2
Sept. 17: At Nebraska
Sept. 22: LSU
Sept. 24: TENNESSEE
Sept. 29: At Georgia
Oct. 1: At Alabama
Oct. 6: At Missouri
Oct. 8: OLE MISS
Oct. 15: At Tennessee
Oct. 20: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Oct. 22: ARKANSAS
Oct. 27: At LSU
Nov. 3: At South Carolina
Nov. 5: At Florida
Nov. 8: At Auburn
Nov. 12: GEORGIA
Nov. 16: TEXAS A&M
Nov. 19: MISSOURI
Nov. 22: At Arkansas
Nov. 25: FLORIDA
1-At West Lafayette, Ind.; 2-At the KFC Yum Center.