After winning another SEC title, Kentucky volleyball is set for an NCAA Tournament run
The scene that unfolded Saturday afternoon on the Rupp Arena floor has become commonplace for Kentucky fans.
Craig Skinner, surrounded by his players, celebrating yet another SEC volleyball championship.
Kentucky has won at least a share of the SEC title in seven straight seasons. Saturday’s confetti-filled celebration came just minutes after the Wildcats confirmed an outright championship for the 2023 season.
A straight-sets victory (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) for No. 10 Kentucky over No. 20 Florida secured a 19-7 overall record and a 17-1 mark in SEC play, enough to top the SEC standings by two games over both Tennessee and Arkansas.
The Wildcats won in Fayetteville on Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of the conference title.
So the party was fully on Saturday, as Kentucky celebrated another league championship in front of 4,091 fans, honored four players on Senior Day and began to look toward an NCAA Tournament run that could extend well into December.
Kentucky has won four outright SEC championships in the last seven years (2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023). The other three SEC championships were shared with Florida (2017, 2019 and 2022).
Newcomers, returners prove key for Kentucky in winning SEC
Plenty of high-level players and coaches have been involved in sustaining Kentucky’s recent run of volleyball success.
But Skinner had his work cut out for him this season in terms of the changes that his program experienced in the offseason.
UK brought in six new players, in addition to adding a new associate head coach (Ben Josephson) and a new assistant (UK legend and national champion Madison Lilley).
Kentucky also had a venue change this season, as the Wildcats are playing their home matches at Rupp Arena while Memorial Coliseum undergoes an $82 million renovation.
But the Wildcats used major contributions from both newcomers and returners to remain the top program in the conference.
Entering Saturday’s match, freshman outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye led the Wildcats in kills (340) and kills per set (3.70). Fifth-year middle blocker Azhani Tealer, a returning All-American, led UK in hitting percentage (.392).
According to UK, Tealer is thought to be the first SEC student-athlete to have won five SEC titles with one team in a five-year window while playing in all five years.
Senior outside hitter Reagan Rutherford also ranked high atop UK’s season-long statistics with 3.48 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .309. Junior setter Emma Grome has more than 1,100 assists for the season and has continued her strong play after being named the 2022 SEC Player of the Year.
Defensively, junior libero Eleanor Beavin (3.99) and freshman Molly Tuozzo (2.20) led UK in digs per set. At the net, three Wildcats have at least 60 blocks: Tealer (86), senior middle blocker Elise Goetzinger (67) and Rutherford (63).
Many of these players showed up in a big way Saturday afternoon to ensure that the 2023 SEC championship would be Kentucky’s alone.
Rutherford led UK with 15 kills. Tealer paced UK with five blocks. Beavin (14) and DeLeye (10) both had double-digit digs.
Next up for Kentucky is the NCAA Tournament
UK will enter the national postseason with plenty of momentum.
UK hasn’t lost since a Sept. 24 home defeat to Tennessee (UK’s only blemish in SEC play). The Wildcats have won 16 straight matches and will soon learn who their next opponent will be.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
The 64-team tournament, which includes 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 teams selected with at-large bids, will see first- and second-round matches played from Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
Kentucky — which will receive the SEC’s automatic qualifying spot in the NCAA Tournament as a result of winning the outright league championship — is expected to host NCAA Tournament matches at Rupp Arena on Thursday and Friday for the first and second rounds.
Under Skinner, Kentucky has reached the NCAA Sweet 16 on eight occasions.
The Wildcats will be joined in the NCAA Tournament by fellow in-state schools Louisville (24-4 overall and 15-3 in ACC play) and Western Kentucky (29-4 overall and 16-0 in Conference USA, along with C-USA regular season and tournament titles).
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 4:59 PM.
