UK volleyball lost the national championship, but it won’t ‘define our season.’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky reached the 2025 NCAA final but lost 3-0 to Texas A&M in Kansas City.
- Coach Craig Skinner praised team effort and vowed continued pursuit of titles.
- Freshman setter Kassie O’Brien earned AVCA honors and will anchor future Kentucky lineups.
As soon as the final kill of the season hit the floor to seal the results of the 2025 NCAA women’s college volleyball national championship match, maroon and white confetti descended upon the more than 18,000 fans, an estimated couple thousand of whom will likely wake up hoarse Monday morning.
A quiet Kentucky coaching staff watched as their Wildcats — many with tears pricking the corners of their eyes, or beginning to stream down their faces — physically came together in a circle, hands connecting in the air for the final time on a volleyball court.
Lone senior Eva Hudson looked around the huddle to her teammates, who, unlike herself, retain eligibility for at least one more season.
“I said, ‘This is nothing to be not proud of,’” Hudson said later, in the post-match press conference. “‘We had an amazing season. We had so many amazing wins, and the last two sets don’t define our season.’”
With a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) sweep, Texas A&M made history, notching its third consecutive tournament win over a No. 1 seed and becoming the first Aggie team to ever win an NCAA Volleyball title.
Craig Skinner’s Kentucky — the last-remaining top-line team in the tournament, the Southeastern Conference regular-season champion, the SEC Tournament champion, the achievers of two reverse sweeps with title implications on the line — had its season come to a close just short of achieving its final goal.
“We’ve proved in and out this season that we can come back from anything,” Hudson said. “And we were kind of waiting for something to flip within the team, and we just kind of never got into that rhythm. And credit to A&M, they played like there was nine seniors on the court, and it was really, really hard to stop. So they deserve all the praise because, I mean, that was some of the best volleyball I’ve played (against).”
The Wildcats did not join UK Athletics’ list of national champions. They did not become the second Kentucky volleyball roster to emerge victorious from the NCAA Tournament title match.
Instead, they return home to Lexington with a national runner-up finish and a sense of gratitude that will likely take a while to fully materialize.
“They did everything, everything to prepare themselves for this match,” Skinner said. “They were ready. They were locked in. They did all the things that they normally do. They didn’t seem nervous, anxious prior to the match. But unfortunately, this is life. You do everything right. You do all the right actions.”
How does one process the complicated emotions of a heartbreaking loss? When, for whatever reason, things don’t work out?
“You do everything possible to give yourself the best chance for success,” Skinner said. “And sometimes it doesn’t go your way. And, if you let that stop you, then you’ve lost. And this team will not stop. They will not stop working, going for whatever they’re trying to achieve, in athletics and in life. And so, I couldn’t be more proud of this team because they did that every single day since last January.”
From the moment Kentucky’s 2025 roster was solidified and gathered together for the first time in Memorial Coliseum nearly one year ago, everybody, from the 14 athletes — six of whom were brand-new — to the coaching staff to the support staff and student managers, envisioned standing as one of the final two teams contending for a national championship.
The path wasn’t without obstacles.
The Wildcats had to click, build chemistry and define their constitution, particularly in the early days of the season when difficult losses to national powers Nebraska — which beat Kentucky 3-2 in a reverse sweep — and Pittsburgh, the only other team this season to sweep the Wildcats.
In the team’s media availability ahead of last week’s Final Four, first-team All-America outside hitter — and Kansas City-area native — Brooklyn DeLeye spoke about how the team’s ability to trust one another came from identifying Kentucky’s “why.”
“Why we continue to play,” DeLeye said. “Why we just love what we’re doing. I think that just has carried out through those big matches because, I mean, there is so much pressure in those matches. I think just bouncing off one another has truly helped. I mean, it’s just fun.”
Welcoming six new faces coincided with the team’s first true starting setter competition in nearly a decade, following consistent, All-America-level play from Kentucky greats like Madison Lilley and Emma Grome; the Wildcats needed, as Skinner likes to call it, a new “quarterback,” and wound up with their setter of the future in true freshman Kassie O’Brien.
O’Brien, who eventually grew into a second-team All-American and the AVCA National Freshman of the Year (Kentucky’s first), first took the reins in the team’s 3-0 sweep of preseason-top-five foe Penn State, an enemy-territory victory which followed the loss to Nebraska.
“Thinking back to that game, it still kind of gives me the chills,” O’Brien said. “That’s kind of what started (it) off. Shoutout to Craig and all the teammates just having confidence in me in that match. Going forward from there, I think I’ve grown so much more in my IQ and understanding the game. I’ve had so many film sessions with (assistant coach Kyle Luongo), so much more opportunities to grow and learn, knowing the blocking schemes and all that. It’s super cool to reflect back on the beginning of the season and then see where we are now.”
Kentucky’s pair of Purdue transfers, Hudson and middle blocker Lizzie Carr, and Marquette transfer Molly Berezowitz, were tasked with acclimating to — and helping elevate — the culture of UK volleyball, which had earned its eighth consecutive conference title in 2024 and had, under Skinner in his two decades as head coach, organically grown into both a consistent top-10 team and a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament.
Carr didn’t play as much during her career in the Big Ten, and was deemed more of a project in her early days as a Wildcat. She became a necessary part of the team’s success, coming in especially clutch during the final month-and-a-half of Kentucky’s season.
Against upset-loving Cal Poly in the Sweet 16, Carr recorded 11 kills and six blocks and hit .667 along the way to the team’s sweep of the Mustangs. Hudson was effusive in praise for her longtime friend and teammate, and spoke to just how important Carr is, despite her not always being the first player fans — or opposing, scouting coaches — think to name.
“Personally, I’ve been with her for a very long time,” Hudson said. “So it’s like a proud mom moment…to see her swinging away with confidence. And she’s such a great player, so I’m glad she is reaping the amazing success. But as for our team, I mean, she brings so much energy to the team in the first place. And then, when she’s scoring relentlessly, that is so fun, and then it makes me and Brooklyn’s jobs so much easier.”
When Hudson first announced Kentucky as her transfer destination, there were questions abound surrounding her fit, specifically alongside 2024 SEC Player of the Year and fellow All-America outside hitter DeLeye.
On last year’s team, DeLeye was, undoubtedly, the star. And for good reason.
How, exactly, would it work? Would ego get in the way? Could two of the best pin hitters in the country gel and combine to become a two-headed monster capable of leading the Wildcats back to the Final Four?
Following Kentucky’s second-round victory over UCLA, DeLeye said Hudson’s addition and passion for the sport made everybody better, and inspired her to work harder in order to complement Hudson’s immense talent.
“It’s just been really fun to have someone like Eva in the gym every single day to push me,” DeLeye said. “And I think it just helps us on the court as well, because even tonight…she was getting kills like crazy, and then I just wanted to do my part to help her out.”
One of Kentucky’s biggest challenges wasn’t even revealed to the public until Saturday, when DeLeye’s parents told WIBW sports reporter Andrew Lind that their daughter had been playing with a torn meniscus since the Wildcats’ loss to Nebraska in the second match of the season; DeLeye chose not to undergo surgery to repair it, prioritizing the team’s success over her own health.
“Super proud of her to work through a challenging situation,” Skinner said. “And she’s one hell of an athlete, one hell of a competitor and someone that is not about Brooklyn. She’s about all the people she’s around, and she gives her heart and soul to her teammates and the program, and (I) couldn’t be more proud of her as a person and an athlete.”
Ahead of the team’s dramatic, five-set Final Four victory over No. 3 Wisconsin Thursday, DeLeye gave some perspective on her motivation as an athlete, and how remembering the joy of the sport helps alleviate the mounting pressure of the season.
“There is a lot of pressure in volleyball,” DeLeye said. “But you just kind of have to go back to it’s just a game. The next day will come no matter what happens. You’re still going to continue on. I mean, it’s just like, yes, there’s a lot of big pressure in those moments. It’s not the end of the world. We’re out there to have fun and play with one another and just carry those memories throughout our life.”
Though he would likely have little interest in accepting the credit, that high level of commitment to Kentucky volleyball begins with Skinner.
Much like Hudson ahead of this season, Skinner in 2004 was a highly-regarded, impossibly hard worker who chose Kentucky over other offers. He’s only ever served as a collegiate head coach at Kentucky, and he finished the 2025 season with 498 career victories.
Skinner this season jumped on a table during a press conference to implore fans to attend the Wildcats’ final home games of the regular season. He navigated the rafters of Rupp Arena to beg Big Blue Nation — a group that, without fail, always turns out for men’s basketball — to support his Wildcats as they hosted the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. He flew in a jet as an attention-grabbing stunt to send a plea to the fans to attend their Sweet 16 match.
Once the ticket to the Final Four was punched, Skinner graciously thanked fans and assured the attending media that this Kentucky team was one to remember. That this season’s group was so special, he himself was motivated to shout from the tops of tables, from the rafters and from a jet plane that the Wildcats are more than deserving of fans’ time, money and attention.
The commitment embodied by Skinner, naturally, is passed along to his staff, which he celebrated as much as he celebrated his players following the loss to Texas A&M.
“Giving their heart and soul to every athlete, and every moment that we had together,” Skinner said. “Never had to question their work ethic or desire or passion to do the best they can in the essence of coaching to make people better. And help them reach their dreams and goals, and try and improve each and every day. And this staff, they all committed every ounce of their soul to it.”
At the start of the season, the coaching staff gave each player a photo of themselves as a young volleyball player. It’s not an uncommon practice, but Skinner and his staff — including the program’s sports psychologist, Marc Cormier — are always making “a collective effort to understand why we’re playing the game,” Skinner said.
“Why did that little athlete play volleyball?” Skinner asked. “Because they loved it. They had fun. They wanted to be around their friends and teammates. It creates an environment where you’re playing for something bigger than yourself.”
Ahead of the Final Four, Skinner explained that Cormier talks about how, sometimes, especially in late stages of the season, it’s not as easy to remember the joy. That ‘Why’ DeLeye mentioned is invaluable, and it has served as a key part of Kentucky’s success this year.
“When you get to this point in time, you feel the emotions, the pressure, the what-ifs,” Skinner said. “If this happens, if that happens, the media coverage. It all becomes way bigger than why that little girl was playing the game when she was 10 years old. It’s just a great reminder that we play a sport because it’s fun. We cannot lose that perspective because, regardless of the outcomes, you’re doing something that’s fun.”
In his 21 years as a head coach, Skinner has learned plenty.
There aren’t many new lessons these days. However, with a roster that’s given him so much, both in terms of on-court results and emotionally, he’s identified a greater sense of the kind of players he wants to recruit in the future.
He’ll seek them in hopes that, maybe someday soon, Kentucky volleyball could earn another spot in the national championship. Could again produce several All-Americans. Could win another SEC regular-season title and another SEC Tournament championship.
“They play with such joy,” Skinner said. “I want to coach more players like that. I want players that you don’t really have to coach body language and enthusiasm. If you do, you’re spending all your effort on the wrong things.
“In the recruiting world, just trying to find those people that are driven internally and have an enthusiasm, infectious enthusiasm, for life. Those guys, being around them every day, I look forward to that, our staff looks forward to it. Let’s get more of those players.”
The types of players who — regardless of the color of the confetti upon the conclusion of the season’s final match — can come together with gratitude and be proud of everything that they’ve accomplished.
