Ava Sarafa, right, talks to coach Craig Skinner during a recent practice. (Vicky Graff Photo)
For two years Ava Sarafa got to watch and learn from All-American setter Emma Grome, a four-year starter for Kentucky volleyball. Now Grome is gone and Sarafa has her opportunity to claim a starting job for coach Craig Skinner.
“Sitting behind Emma, you learn a lot. I think this year just from talking to the coaches, talking to the team that the setter will be who makes their presence known on the floor and who can be that connector,” said Sarafa, a 6-foot redshirt sophomore from Michigan,. “We will see what happens, but obviously there’s confidence in there. I’m ready to prove myself in that role.”
Sarafa was a three-time state champion in Michigan and winner of the Andi Collins award that goes to the nation’s most outstanding senior setter — Sarafa had over 5,000 assists in high school. Sarafa, who had a serving specialist role last year at UK, was also named national player of the year by Vballrecruiter.com.
“As a competitive athlete, you obviously want to be on the court,” Sarafa said. “But also having an amazing teammate like Emma you take in so much. We talk about roles all the time. If you were put in a role, you just have to embrace it. So even if I wasn’t setting, I was embracing my role coming in as a serving specialist while still learning what I needed to do.”
Sarafa admits she got used to playing more defense last season and trained a lot on digging balls while playing different positions.
“Honestly, I am still working on digging. We train a lot on that. But I do feel like I have got better,” she said.
Skinner wants his team — which has been picked to again win the Southeastern Conference title — to play at a fast pace and feels he has the athletes to easily do that. Sarafa says the team has “amazing energy and communication” that makes that possible.
“You know they are ready for the ball and as a setter you get trust in that,” Sarafa said. “There’s no doubt if I deliver the ball at the right tempo, the hitters will be there.”
She has two big-time hitters in junior Brooklyn DeLeye, the 2024 SEC Player of the Year, and Purdue transfer Eva Hudson, one of the biggest hitters in the Big Ten last year. Both are on the preseason national player of the year watchlist.
“They are both amazing hitters, so they know exactly what they need. Honestly, if there is a miscommunication, we turn to each other and say, ‘Okay, what happened there?’” Sarafa said. “There has to be some accountability. Setting and hitting is a two-way street, so if it is not there, it’s not there, and we work on it.”
Sarafa is competing with true freshman Kassie O’Brien of Texas for the starting position. The redshirt sophomore knows she’s a better player now than she was two years ago coming out of high school but also understands the elite talent on her team.
“Coming to a school like Kentucky, you are usually top dog in your recruiting class. You’re talented, but you get here and everyone is talented and you are just a freshman,” Sarafa said. “You’re with the big dogs of the SEC. You’re with All-Americans.
“I think mentally coming in here you have to feel more confident and comfortable because of the amazing people around you that also know that you are talented. I think just this year being able to lean on each other and, especially me, just knowing that they have my back is huge.
“If something doesn’t work out it’s not going to be like they’re coming after me. They’re like, ‘Hey let’s get through this. Let’s work on this.’ That just makes me want to deliver the ball perfectly to them even more.”
