A major challenge awaits Kentucky volleyball team in Texas

Thirteen of the 16 seeded teams in the 64-squad field for the 2019 NCAA volleyball tournament won two matches each last weekend and advanced to Friday’s round of 16.

One of those was No. 9 Kentucky, which breezed past Southeast Missouri State and Michigan in straight sets.

Now, the going gets tougher.

The Wildcats (25-6) head to Waco, Texas, where they’ll face No. 8 seed Washington (26-6) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. EST. Also in Waco on Friday is the host team — No. 1 seed Baylor (27-1). The Bears take on No. 16 Purdue (24-7) at noon.

The winners of those two matches face off Saturday in Waco for a spot in next week’s NCAA Final Four at Pittsburgh.

Friday’s UK volleyball match will be streamed live online by ESPN3.

Before Kentucky can worry about Baylor, the Cats will have their hands full with the Huskies, who finished second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford this season.

Keegan Cook is in his fifth season as UW’s head coach and has a 131-35 record. He’s led the Huskies to two Elite Eights and a Sweet 16 berth in four NCAA Tournament appearances. Kara Bajema leads Washington with 4.57 kills per set.

Washington is 4-2 this season against schools in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. The Huskies beat No. 4 Wisconsin twice and No. 3 Stanford once. They lost to No. 12 Hawaii and split with unseeded Utah.

Washington reached the round of 16 by defeating Winthrop and South Carolina in straight sets.

Like the Pac-12, with Washington, Stanford and Utah, the Southeastern Conference has three teams still alive in NCAA play in Kentucky, No. 10 Florida and No. 13 Texas A&M. The only other conference with more than three is the Big Ten with five — Purdue, Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota and No. 11 Penn State.

Kentucky is back in the Sweet 16 looking for its second Elite Eight berth in three years. In 2017, UK beat BYU in the Sweet 16 before falling to Nebraska in the regional finals.

Coach Craig Skinner’s Wildcats take a 10-match winning streak to Waco. They are 3-3 against Sweet 16 teams this year, having beaten Florida twice and Louisville once. They’ve lost to Purdue, Utah and Texas A&M.

SEC Player of the Year Leah Edmond, from Paul Laurence Dunbar in Lexington, leads Kentucky with 4.43 kills per set, and averaged 5.50 during last weekend’s NCAA wins in Memorial Coliseum. Gabby Curry, the SEC Libero of the Year, had 5.67 digs per set last weekend, and setter Madison Lilley averaged 10.67 assists per set.

▪ Louisville will also be playing in Texas on Friday, visiting the No. 2 seed Longhorns in Austin in a 4 p.m. EST match. Unseeded Louisville (21-9) defeated Samford, then knocked off No. 15 Western Kentucky last weekend in Bowling Green. Texas (23-3) beat Albany and UC Santa Barbara.

Friday

Kentucky vs. Washington

What: NCAA volleyball tournament Waco Regional semifinal (round of 16)

Where: Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas

When: 2:30 p.m. EST

Records: No. 9 seed Kentucky, 25-6; No. 8 seed Washington, 26-6

Series: Washington leads 2-1

Last meeting: Washington defeated Kentucky 3-0 on Dec. 3, 2016, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Seattle, Wash.

At stake: The winner advances to the NCAA Elite Eight to face either No. 1 seed Baylor or No. 16 seed Purdue on Saturday.

Friday’s TV: ESPN3 (online only)