UK volleyball one win away from eighth straight SEC title after ninth victory in a row
The University of Kentucky volleyball team is in the driver’s seat for at least a share of the Wildcats’ eighth consecutive Southeastern Conference championship.
UK, ranked 12th in the nation this week, defeated Mississippi State 3-0 in front of an announced crowd of 2,166 in Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night to extend its winning streak to nine straight matches.
The Wildcats (18-7 overall, 12-2 SEC) need one win in their final two regular season matches to clinch a tie for the league title and can win the crown outright by sweeping.
Also still in contention for the championship are 20th-ranked Florida (20-5, 11-3), No. 14 Texas (15-6, 10-3) and No. 25 Missouri (18-6, 9-3).
Kentucky hosts Arkansas (16-9, 6-7) for Senior Day on Sunday at 4 p.m. (SEC Network), then closes the regular season Wednesday at Missouri.
Despite winning at least a share of the past seven SEC titles, coach Craig Skinner’s Kentucky squad was picked to finish third behind Texas and Florida in 2024 in a preseason vote of the league’s coaches.
Texas, which has won the past two NCAA championships, is playing its first season of volleyball as a member of the SEC. Florida has provided Kentucky’s primary competition for championships during the past decade.
Kentucky’s ability to get out front of both rivals has been the product of a remarkable turnaround to this season. A four-game losing streak that included defeats against three top-10 teams in Purdue, Louisville and Stanford, left UK at 6-6 on Sept. 27.
Since then, the Cats have gone 12-1, the only loss coming against Texas on Oct. 13 in Lexington.
UK will almost assuredly win the conference title and the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that comes with it.
From there, we’ll find out if iron has truly sharpened iron. The Cats have faced six opponents this season ranked in the top 10 at the time of their match against UK, and Kentucky is 0-6 in those matches.
After UK lost its annual rivalry game with Louisville this season, Skinner spoke to the necessity of facing the best of the best. In his 20th season coaching the Cats, Skinner has led UK to one NCAA title and to nine Sweet 16 appearances since 2009.
The UK coach knows what it takes.
“The question is, ‘Are we going to continue to invest in ourselves, our teammates and the process? … Because if you stop and rest, not (have) the motivation to continue to get better, then you take steps backward. So you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. And our job is to execute at a higher clip, to put our energy into, ‘what are the areas of improvement we need?’ And we’ve made a lot of growth. ... And every team is different in when it all clicks.”
Kentucky clicked Wednesday night to the tune of a 25-17, 25-20, 25-11 sweep of Mississippi State (10-13, 4-10).
Senior outside hitter Megan Wilson sparked the win with nine kills, posting a career-high .529 hitting percentage with nine kills in only 17 swings.
Emma Grome contributed 37 assists. Molly Tuozzo led UK with 12 digs, and Brooklyn DeLeye had 10.
Senior Day festivities begin at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. UK will honor seniors Wilson, Grome, Eleanor Beavin, Delaney Hogan, Erin Lamb and Lane Jenkins.