Minnesota prep standout Sidney Burley likes to do her job so well that she goes almost unnoticed during matches.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner had one weather-related plus on his side when he recruited Minnesota libero Sidney Burley.
“I am not a big fan of the snow. When I was younger I liked to sled and have fun. Now that I am older, sledding seems less practical ,” the 16-year-old Burley said. “I didn’t want to stay in Minnesota (for college). I was looking at schools more in the south.”
When Skinner first reached out to her coach, she was excited about the school’s location. She knew Kentucky always had a competitive program but the more research she did, the more she learned how Skinner pushed players and that UK had recently won a national championship.
“I went to the campus and it was not really a hard decision to make,” Burley said. “It was a spur of the moment decision to visit. It was not much more than an academic tour and looking at the facilities. When we were walking to the student center we ran into two (volleyball) players and they were so nice and very welcoming.
Burley drew interest from a lot of schools and some consider her the top libero in the 2026 recruiting class because of her incredible athleticism.
Her approach to matches is to make it seem like she is not there.
“My job is to keep the game going smoother and not have you even notice me,” she said. “If you notice me, I am not doing my job right. I would rather be celebrating other teammates rather than having the focus on me.”
Ironically, playing volleyball was not her decision. Her mother told her if she wanted to play any other sports, she also had to play volleyball.
“She loved volleyball so much and wanted to share her love of the game with me,” Burley said. “When I was 8, she was my coach. Now she says I am more of her coach because of things I can tell her about the game.”
Burley admits she “gets into volleyball a lot” and sometimes can burn out. She’s learned to take breaks but also has a hard time resisting a chance to be in the gym working on her skills.
“I know if I could stay in the gym all the time it would help my skill set but I also know I would burn out,” she said.
Burley likes a challenge and pushes herself as much academically as she does athletically. She has a 3.95 grade-point average.
“I usually push for an A but sometimes I do get an A- but there is definitely competition between me and my brothers,” she said. “They swear every year they will prove they can do better, so that pushes me.”
Burley admits there’s not as much pressure on her now, especially in big tournaments, because she has her college choice made.
“I want to win and play well and put a lot of pressure on myself but I don’t have to worry about what colleges are there to watch and how I am doing,” she said.
While the Big Ten has several volleyball powerhouse, her family and friends were not surprised by her commitment to UK because they knew she wanted to head south.
“They were happy for me and supportive of my decision,” Burley said. “It’s only about an hour flight to Louisville and then an hour drive to Lexington, so it is not that far away and it definitely gets me away from the snow.”
