Senior Day romp lifts Kentucky volleyball to record eighth straight SEC championship

The circumstances change. Kentucky remains the same.

When it comes to Southeastern Conference volleyball, all the Wildcats do is win championships.

On Sunday, UK defeated Arkansas 3-0 to claim at least a share of its eighth consecutive SEC championship. Kentucky will secure the title outright with a win at Missouri on Wednesday night to conclude the regular season.

Sunday’s win, in front of a Senior Day crowd of 4,412 in Memorial Coliseum, came by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-13. It delivered the 13th conference title in school history.

Kentucky (19-7 overall, 13-2 SEC) has won 10 matches in a row, a stretch during which the nationally 12th-ranked Wildcats have lost only two sets while recording eight 3-0 sweeps.

Florida (11-3) and Texas (11-3) are both still within reach of sharing the SEC title with UK, each with two matches left to play.

Despite winning at least a share of the previous seven SEC titles, coach Craig Skinner’s Kentucky team 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 eight straight conference titles is the longest streak by any Power Four school.

Brooklyn DeLeye and Megan Wilson led Kentucky with 13 and 12 kills, respectively Sunday. Defensively, Molly Tuozzo had 19 digs, and Emma Grome and DeLeye added 10 each. Brooke Bultema topped UK with five blocks and Wilson had four.

Senior Day festivities recognized Wilson, Grome, Eleanor Beavin, Delaney Hogan, Erin Lamb and Lane Jenkins.

Kentucky’s regular season-ending match at Missouri on Wednesday gets underway at 8:30 p.m. EST and will be streamed on SEC Network+.