Kentucky is confident but not satisfied

screenshot-544

Eleanor Beavin had an all-conference type of year even if she didn't make the all-SEC team according to coach Craig Skinner. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Craig Skinner has won a national championship and had other NCAA Tournament success but the Kentucky coach admits this is “one of the most rewarding teams” he’s had to reach the Sweet 16.

Kentucky left Tuesday for Thursday night’s match against San Diego in Palo Alto, Calif. If the Cats win, they likely will play No. 1 seed and host Stanford for a berth in the Final Four.

Kentucky shared the Southeastern Conference title with Florida — the sixth straight year UK has won or shared the SEC crown — but Skinner insists the team is “still hungry” going into Thursday’s match.

The Cats have won five straight matches by sweeps, including Loyola-Chicago and Western Kentucky in NCAA play last weekend. However, UK has seven losses and fell to national powers Nebraska, Wisconsin and Louisville early in the season and also lost once at Florida before starting its current win streak.

“Our team feels confident but still not satisfied,” Skinner said. “Momentum is the name of our sport. Regardless of the opponent, if you are able to sweep twice in NCAA it says a lot about the level of play and demeanor of our team.

“We learned a lot in those (non-conference) matches. We had injuries to overcome. If we had swept people in September I do not know if we would be in this situation now and have won the league.”

Skinner said his team does not “give away points” as easily now as it did earlier in the season. He says the team’s ball control is better because of lineup changes and the even better play of SEC Player of the Year Emma Grome, who has 1,200 assists.

He also praised sophomore libero Eleanor Beavin.

“Beavin has really been stepping up after not being recognized as an all-conference player when she had an all-conference season,” Skinner said. “Audrey Whitworth and Riya Walker are two of the best liberos who are not in the libero jersey but playing on our side of the net. Their sacrifices are just what this whole team has done to get us to where we are now.”

One Response

  1. Get it done VB Cats. Skinner is doing a remarkable job with this year’s team. They are head hunters and winners. Go Cats.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Loading...