Eleanor Beavin has been a rock star for four years for Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Every season Kentucky volleyball coach Craig Skinner writes a letter to his senior players.
This year he didn’t have enough words for Emma Grome and Eleanor Beavin, a dynamic duo who came to UK after the Cats won the national championship and had to try to follow that historic feat.
Maybe they don’t have a national title — they have one more chance starting this weekend — but they have both been sensational.
“Maybe there would be a dozen players who have played every match in four years like Emma and Eleanor have,” said Skinner. “They walked in and now we have won four (Southeastern Conference) championships and they have played in every single match. We would not have won some of those matches without them here.”
Kentucky clinched its eighth straight SEC championship with a four-set win over Missouri Tuesday and Grome, Beavin and Erinn Lamb will be going to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament. They have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 twice and won 88 matches in their four years, including a 63-8 mark in SEC play.
Grome had to take over for setter Madison Lilley, the national player of the year on UK’s national championship team. She has averaged almost 12 assists per set in her four-year career and has been named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Setter of the Week 19 times. She is 84 assists shy of Lilley’s all-time record and could challenge that if UK makes a deep NCAA tourney run. She’s also top 10 in service aces with 88.
“The way she has performed and the pressure for her to jump into Madison Lilley’s shoes and run the show is immense,” Skinner said. “She’s just exceptional.”
Beavin is the fourth player in UK history to reach 100 service aces and has a school record 118 aces — one more than the previous record set by Lilley. She was named SEC Libero of the Year in 2021 as a freshman taking over for four-year starter Gabby Curry off the national championship team. She has 81 career matches with 10 or more digs and is fifth all-time at UK with 1,452 digs.
Beavin would have way more digs if Skinner had not moved sophomore Molly Tuozzo to libero this season and shifted Beavin to a rotation player.
“It was a very difficult decision and one I did not want to make but you have to make them. You have got to make the decision that is best for the team,” Skinner said. “With those two it is like walking out to a two-car garage and one side is a Lamborghini and the other side is a Ferrari.
“But you want to pick one and stick with it for continuity. Eleanor is exceptional and has been exceptional in her role and as a leader. No moping over the move. She has been a rock star. There is no doubt we would not have had the success we have had this year if not for Eleanor taking her role and being the best she could be at it.”
That attitude is part of the team culture Skinner has developed at Kentucky during its SEC championship run.
“You want the best players possible but you also want the right players,” the Kentucky coach said. “They understand what teams are about. They are all competitive and want a piece of the pie. If you can get a collective group and they are all about what it takes to win … and it takes a daily commitment to be your best.
“It’s hard to win championships. The competitive maturity in our group makes it so much easier as a coach. You are not dragging them to the finish line. They are the ones pushing you. This group and my staff have motivated me to want to do even more as we go into postseason play.”
