Craig Skinner Has A Lot To Be Excited About

Freshman Kassie O'Brien will compete to be UK's starting setter this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)

By Gina Potter, Contributing Writer

Kentucky volleyball coach Craig Skinner has never held a press conference this early in the year — until Tuesday.

There are so many new things happening in the volleyball program that he is anxious to share the continued evolution of the sport.

Since January, UK volleyball has added four new freshmen, including Hannah Benjamin who had an ACL injury last year, and three transfers. They will be participating in events that have never occurred in their sport before. These events include The Broadway Block Party being held Aug. 31st in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville where UK will be playing against Nebraska. The Cats will also participate in the ACC/SEC Volleyball Challenge as an early-season event that pits teams from the ACC against teams in the SEC in a series of competitive non-conference matches.

In addition, they will be competing in the SEC Tournament this year, which hasn’t happened since 2005. Skinner really advocated for the return of the SEC Tournament to create a more balanced schedule where everyone played, both home and away. He loves the fact teams get the chance to compete in a single elimination tournament where all 16 teams will be competing. He felt this was the only way to have a true champion crowned…..so he said, “Savannah, GA., here we come!”

Kentucky will be starting its season Aug. 5 this year. With all these new opportunities, Skinner isn’t worried about burn-out because he has a plan in place for players to get enough recovery time both physically and mentally. Volleyball has a team composed of an athletic trainer, access to a Sports Psychologist that works with both the team and individuals, as well as a link to a psychiatrist for anything above and beyond sports psychology. In addition, teammates, families, and coaches offer continued support throughout the season.

To continue to develop their players who regularly operate at a high level like All-American Brooklyn DeLeye, Skinner has a plan in place that helps them to continue to evolve. Players like DeLeye challenge themselves on their own but Skinner encourages balance between pushing themselves and offering grace. In addition, to add a new level of challenge, Skinner brought in Eva Hudson from Purdue to keep veteran players motivated.

In the past, Skinner had a solid setter for four full years but that has changed this year. He is considering two options with true freshman Kassie O’Brien and redshirt sophomore Ava Sarafa. This creates healthy competition that he encourages within his team.

Skinner also has the challenge of creating depth at the pin because he now has so many elite level hitters. He must decide on the best trio to put on the floor at the same time. DeLeye and Hudson have already established themselves but now he has the option of Hannah Benjamin, Georgia Watson, Jordan Dailey, Lizzie Carr and Asia Thigpen. This is a good problem to have because it gives him more depth. If there is an injury or illness, now he has options.

Bringing in three transfers is not typical for Skinner’s teams in the past. He prides himself on choosing players that are all in for Kentucky and not just about material things. He wants to have a player-driven program and educates players on that mindset starting at the recruitment process. He encourages his veteran players to carry on that mentality. His goal is that his players are able to coach their own team when they leave his program.

Everyone is going to love this team! They have a combination of personalities that will make for an exciting year. Skinner says Sarafa, Carr, and Molly Berezowitz have unique personalities that really contribute to the team culture. Molly Tuozzo has an outgoing and engaging personality that positively affects the whole team. Benjamin’s work ethic is contagious, and Thigpen is the player everyone wants on their team because she takes the competition to a whole new level.