Versatile UK volleyball will host Loyola-Chicago in NCAA Tournament on Thursday

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Sophomore Emma Grome is non-stop energy in a match, leads the nation in assists and was named SEC Player of the Year Sunday. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Craig Skinner is not quite sure how many different lineups he’s had to use this season.

“In 18 conference matches, I bet we did not have the same lineup more than nine or 10 times,” said the Kentucky volleyball coach. “That says a lot about the players being willing to play different positions, stepping up after injuries. We had a lot of different players come in and make big plays when we needed them.

That led UK to a 15-3 Southeastern Conference mark and tie for the league title with Florida, the sixth straight year UK has either won or share the SEC title. Now the Cats will be playing in their 18th straight NCAA Tournament in Skinner’s 18 years as head coach.

Kentucky is the No. 12 overall national seed and will be a host site for the first and second rounds matches Thursday and Friday. Western Kentucky will face Bowling Green at 4:30 p.m. Thursday before Kentucky plays Loyola-Chicago at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet Friday at 7 p.m.

Loyola-Chicago is 25-8 overall and was 17-1 in A-10 play and the conference champion. Loyola has the 76th best RPI and its strength of schedule was No. 157. Kentucky, the 2020 national champion, has the nation’s No. 8 RPI and is No. 4 in national strength of schedule — seven SEC teams (Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and Kentucky) are in the NCAA field, the most of any conference.

Skinner said expectations “certainly are higher” for UK since Kentucky became the first SEC volleyball team to win a national championship.

“We are in a situation where everyone expects you to do well and is trying to take you down a notch,” Skinner said. “I probably put too much stress on the team in the way I acted in the past. I am a lot less stressed and much more relaxed now.”

It helps to have the SEC Player of the Year on the team for five straight years after sophomore setter Emma Grome earned that honor Sunday to follow in the footsteps of Leah Edmond (2018-19), Madison Lilley (2020) and Alli Stumler (2021).

Grome averages 12.45 assists per set, best in the nation, along with 2.17 digs per set.

Kentucky also had three other all-SEC players — Adanna Rollins, Reagan Rutherford and Azhani Tealer. Rollins averages 3.8 and 2.07 digs per set and has 14 matches with 10 or more kills. Rutherford leads the team with 4.0 kills per set and also averages one block per set. She has six double-doubles this season. Tealer contributes 3.18 kills and 1.59 blocks per set and a UK record 13 block assists in a win at South Carolina on Friday.

Skinner probably was surprised that sophomore libero Eleanor Beavin was not on the all-SEC team.

“Her serve-receive numbers are 20 percent better than any other libero in the league,” Skinner said on The Leach Report Sunday Morning Sports on WLAP (630 AM). “She stabilizes everything.

“Emma leads the country in assists. Her doing that stepping into the shoes of Madison Lilley is unbelievable. Her and Eleanor are two of the very best in the country at their positions. Those guys are elite. No question about that.”

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