Vicky Graff Photo
Emma Grome didn’t cry during Senior Day ceremonies before the Kentucky volleyball team swept Arkansas Sunday to clinch an eighth straight Southeastern Conference championship.
But she did cry — and my guess is that Kentucky coach Craig Skinner might have felt like crying, too, because of what this senior class has done for his program.
Seniors Erin Lamb and Megan Wilson both cried. Lamb even asked photographers to give her a moment to wipe away tears before taking a photo with her family during Senior Day introductions. However, Grome did cry where no one could see.
‘I shed some tears before, though, don’t worry. I don’t like crying in front of people, so I wasn’t gonna do it. I cried before we came out,” she said. “But no, this was a very special day. They (UK officials) outdid themselves, and it was really cool.”
Grome said it was extra special to clinch at least a SEC co-championship on Senior Day and agreed there was no better way to end her regular-season home career.
Here is what the seniors contributed Sunday:
— Grome had 28 assists, 10 digs, two block assists and a service ace.
— Wilson kept her streak of impressive play going with 12 kills and just one error on 22 swings while also contributing two digs and four block assists.
— Erin Lamb, playing in only her second SEC match after being out with an injury most of conference play, had seven kills and a pair of service aces.
— Eleanor Beavin had seven digs and four service aces to move within one ace of Madison Lilley’s all-time UK record.
Skinner used “great” to describe how his seniors played.
“Emma had a great run in the second set, Beavin there the last point of the second set, then she continued in the third set. Erin, coming in and doing a great job. Megan had a great match today, too. What a match for her,” the Kentucky coach said.
The senior class has won four SEC titles, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 twice and gone 62-7 in SEC play going into Wednesday’s match at Missouri.
“These seniors have had a lot of great wins and been in a lot of challenging situations and they have always responded,” Skinner said. “This is no exception. This is one step along our journey this year. That senior group has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this journey.”
Arkansas eliminated Kentucky in the NCAA Sweet 16 last year after losing to the Wildcats during the season. Lamb still remembered that loss.
“We had it in the back of our minds with what happened last year in the Sweet 16 with that team,” Lamb said. “We had that, we had what’s at stake tonight, we had all of the emotions from Senior Night, so I think all of that built up and the adrenaline rush we had carried us through.”
Even though Kentucky has dominated the SEC in recent years, the Cats were picked third behind SEC newcomer Texas, the two-time defending national champion, and Florida going into the season. The Cats started conference play losing at Auburn and later got swept at home by Texas.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our staff,” Skinner said after Sunday’s win. “Ben (Josephson), Merideth (Jewell) and Madison (Lilley) did a hell of a job coaching this team and getting them prepared to play against great competition.”
However, the Cats know their season is not finished. They want to win the SEC title outright by beating Missouri, which has only two SEC losses — one loss was a three-set sweep by host UK.
“We still have one more (win to go). We got to clinch it outright,” Grome said. “But I do think it was just really cool and really special to clinch a share of the title today on Senior Day. We have a great group of seniors, and everybody’s worked so hard. So it was really special.”
Kentucky-Arkansas Volleyball
Photos by Vicky Graff
One Response
Congrats to Cats!
8 in a row is big time success!