UK volleyball resumes its unbeaten season. Are the Cats a national title contender?
When a college athletics program loses the best player in its history, it stands to reason the team will suffer a drop-off.
The fourth-ranked University of Kentucky volleyball team is well on its way to shattering that conventional wisdom.
Facing a split-season, conference-only framework prompted by the coronavirus pandemic and taking the court for the first time in nearly half a decade without four-time All-American Leah Edmond, the Wildcats ripped through an eight-match fall schedule.
UK swept its last four matches and dropped just two sets total as it built an 8-0 record and took a commanding lead in the Southeastern Conference standings. In the preseason, Kentucky was voted by league coaches to win its fourth straight SEC title and the Cats have already built a two-match lead over Arkansas, Florida and Missouri.
With Kentucky set to restart its season at Arkansas on Friday after a break of more than two months, it’s a good time to ask: Can these Wildcats win the national championship?
‘It just blows my mind’
The Cats returned to practice this month for the first time since their straight-set victory at Mississippi State on Nov. 14. Craig Skinner has seen a lot of impressive things in his previous 15 years as UK head coach, and the shape in which his squad returned to campus ranks among his most pleasant surprises.
“As a staff, we’ve been really impressed with the way they’ve handled themselves and maintained their fitness and skills,” Skinner told the Herald-Leader during a teleconference this week. “I made the comment in practice yesterday that you can point to every single player and say, ‘You’ve improved in some area or another since Nov. 14,’ and it just blows my mind.”
The loss of Edmond was mitigated to a degree by the signing of the first No. 1-ranked recruiting class in UK history. Several of those newcomers made an immediate impact in the fall, including Madi Skinner — the nation’s No. 2 recruit in the 2020 class according to PrepVolleyball.com — Reagan Rutherford (No. 10) and Elise Goetzinger, who was an Under Armour All-American.
But a talented freshman class couldn’t alone fill the void left by Edmond; Several veterans were asked to step up their games. So far, they’ve delivered.
“You don’t replace Leah Edmond. She’s the all-time kills leader in the program and you just knew going into matches that you were going to score points with someone like her,” Skinner said. “You try and find the highlights and strengths of this team and utilize the weapons we have. You try to balance the offense a little bit more. And that’s something we’ve needed the last couple of years, to have more balance.”
Avery Skinner, a senior outside hitter who’s the older sister of Madi Skinner (no relation to Craig Skinner), and junior outside hitter Alli Stumler have paced UK’s offense this season. Stumler leads the team with 121 kills while Avery Skinner is second with 67.
“We worked really hard on (creating balance) in the fall and people stepped up. Avery Skinner and Azhani Tealer, Madi Skinner and Reagan Rutherford and Alli Stumler just really adding a lot. Madison Lilley playing at the level she is as a quarterback and setter really helps.
“There’s no question we’re more balanced. We still get good production on the left side of the net with Stumler and Avery Skinner. But behind the setter, when Madison sets behind, we’re getting a lot of points scored (from the back line). It just really helps your offense when three blockers can’t load up on one or two hitters. You really have to read situation, versus just putting two blockers on one attacker.”
ESPN and SEC Network analyst and play-by-play commentator Courtney Lyle called several of UK’s fall matches and has followed the Wildcats closely the last few years. She told the Herald-Leader that the team was impressive in the fall.
“The big question was, how were they going to make up for everything that Leah Edmond did? Some of the answers that we got: Alli Stumler took her game to an even higher level. She became more dominant, she became a better passer — and she was already a great passer. A lot’s being asked of her, because she’s that six-rotation outside hitter. So, for her to elevate her game was huge for UK. She increased her vertical, her jump got bigger. I was super excited to see her play so well. She’s an exciting player and I think she’s filling that void left by Leah Edmond.”
Lyle agreed with Skinner that this Kentucky team fields more balance than in recent years.
“I think this team has more depth, and I think that’s going to be really important,” Lyle said. “This freshman class is one that can have a big impact. We already saw in the fall over those eight matches the kind of impact they can have, with playing Reagan Rutherford on the right-side position and Elise Goetzinger, we saw her in the middle. That’s a lot to ask, to be a starting middle blocker as a freshman. So, that was really exciting to see the kind of depth Kentucky has, and that can only benefit them.”
‘We have the horses’
So, is this balanced squad of versatile veterans and talented newcomers a serious threat to win the program’s first national title?
“That’s the goal. You want to compete to win a national championship. Athletically, we have the horses to compete with anybody,” Skinner said. “The one thing I feel like is important for us is we have several players that have four or five skill sets. Five-tool players.
“On paper, we’re as good as any team I’ve had. I don’t know yet what it’s going to be like when we’re playing a top-10 team on the road and we’re in the fifth set. Those are things I’m looking forward to seeing,” Skinner said. “I think we’re probably the most balanced of any team that we’ve had. We’ve typically had to rely on two or three attackers to score points. This year I think that at any moment we have five people on the floor that can put the ball away. I think that balance will be a huge advantage for us.”
Lyle will be looking for a couple of things to determine whether the Cats can make a Final Four run.
“They’ve got to answer this question: How are they in the middle? How are they on the right side? We got to see them in eight matches ... But when they go against the best teams in the SEC, how do these freshmen handle that,” Lyle wondered.
“You’ve got a freshman middle (blocker), and then your other middle is Azhani Tealer, who is moving over from the right side and she’s only 5-(foot)-10. I think she did a great job in the fall and I think the spring will benefit this Kentucky team where the Big Ten and Pac-12 didn’t have a fall season. I think those eight matches probably really helped this coaching staff and this team realize what they have and what they need to work on.”
The big three
Ranked ahead of UK in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll are No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Stanford.
Wisconsin did not play a fall schedule and is 2-0 on the year after sweeping No. 13 Purdue on consecutive days last weekend. The Badgers, who fell to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament finals in 2019, are led by All-America middle blocker and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Dana Rettke, whom Lyle calls “one of the best players in the country.”
Texas won all 14 of its fall matches and was taken to five sets just three times.
“Texas is probably the most athletic team in the country. They have athletes and are just physically impressive at every spot,” Skinner said.
Lyle believes a pair of dominant middle blockers are a big reason the Longhorns are among the nation’s most dangerous teams.
“Texas, they have Brionne Butler and Asjia O’Neal, and they are fantastic in the middle,” Lyle said.
Stanford is the back-to-back defending national champion, but the Cardinal are dealing with major turnover after graduating a historic senior class that also spearheaded a national title run as freshmen.
Lyle is reserving judgment on Stanford, which has yet to take the court with its current roster.
“Stanford lost that huge senior class ... You lose the national player of the year in Kathryn Plummer and your senior setter and your libero, who is one of the best liberos I’ve ever watched in Morgan Hentz,” Lyle said. “I don’t think we know enough about Stanford, but you can never count them out. I think we have a lot of questions about Stanford.”
For his part, Skinner would relish the chance to face any of those three teams in the NCAA Tournament, and he hopes to round this version of his Cats into a squad that could beat them in multiple ways.
“They’re super-athletic teams. I’d love the chance to play any one of those teams and see where we match up,” Skinner said. “I think we were too predictable the last couple of years in the regional and that allowed teams to focus their defense on one or two aspects. I want us going into every match with the other team going, ‘Well, we’re not exactly sure which way they’re going with their offense today.’ Can we distribute it each and every night where the opposing teams can’t spend two days preparing for one or two things, they have to prepare for five or six things?”
Lyle is looking forward to studying the Wildcats as they attempt to answer that question affirmatively over these next eight matches leading up to the postseason.
“I definitely think they have the talent,” Lyle said. “If that all comes together and this experienced setter in Madison Lilley, this experienced setter in Gabby Curry help bring this team along, I think they definitely have a shot at being one of the top teams and making a deep run in the tournament.”
Ticket options, safety protocols
Following advice from health officials, UK has designed a distanced seating plan and other COVID-19 safety protocols for the winter/spring season. Attendance at Memorial Coliseum will be capped at 15 percent of normal arena capacity. All plans are subject to change based on evolving information as well as local, state and national public health developments.
Kentucky’s winter/spring 2021 schedule includes home matches against South Carolina (Feb. 20 and 21), LSU (March 5 and 6), Mississippi (March 12 and 13) and Alabama (March 24 and 25).
Tickets will be sold on a single-match basis and can be purchased at UKathletics.com via ticketmaster. Fans will receive their tickets via mobile delivery and must use a mobile device to have them scanned for entry to Memorial Coliseum.
Spectators will be required to remain in their assigned, physically distanced seats during matches and face coverings will be required at all times when not eating or drinking. A complete list of updated COVID-19 protocols for UK volleyball home matches can be found at UKathletics.com.
This weekend
Kentucky at Arkansas
Friday: 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Saturday: 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 8:02 AM.
