Kassie O'Brien, right, has had an "amazing" experience at UK already. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Freshman setter Kassie O’Brien of Katy, Texas, had a distinguished high school career with over 4,000 career assists for Cinco Ranch high School and also with Houston Skyline, her club team, against some of the nation’s best players.
Going into Saturday afternoon’s exhibition match in Memorial Coliseum against Ohio State, the 6-foot-1 O’Brien is competing with redshirt sophomore Ava Sarafa to be UK’s starting setter, a spot All-American Emma Grome had the least four years.
“They have both made significant strides since last spring and both are doing a good job,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “You can run a system with two setters but that’s not what we do. It would be like platooning quarterbacks in football. In a match a rhythm occurs between the setter and attacker. If a coach interrupts that by changing setters it can reduce the flow and break up the connection.”
O’Brien, who enrolled at UK in January, said everything has been “amazing” so far.
“Practices have been very good and I have been loving every moment,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien shared her thoughts on a variety of subjects going into Saturday’s exhibition match.
Question: One reason you picked Kentucky was because of All-American setter Emma Gome’s success. Did you get to spend any time with her before she left to start her professional career?
O’Brien: “No, I did not. She was already gone. But Ava (Sarafa) has experience, so talking to her about setting was great. We also got some new coaches, so just learning their new side of the game has been really cool.”
Question: What are your overall thoughts on this team?
O’Brien: “It’s amazing. I think this group of girls is very special. I think we can go very far this year. Each day everyone works to their fullest. We push each other and are very competitive.”
Question: How does coach Craig Skinner decide who to play with the talent this team has?
O’Brien: “It’s really cool how deep our team is. Everyone could go out at any time and make big plays andI think that’s really important when it comes to being a great team.”
Question: What have practices been like compared to high school or even club?
O’Brien: “It’s super cool because no matter who’s on the court, we can scrimmage each other and have really great competition. So I think that’s really important whenever it comes to wanting to be one of the best teams in the country. I mean it has been an adjustment coming from high school to college, but I feel like my club did a very good job of preparing us so overall it’s been great.”
Question: How hard are practices with the competition and depth on this team?
O’Brien: “We usually end practice going six-on-six for the last hour. We usually do drills. But, yeah, you can be playing with anybody at any time.”
Question: Has there been anybody on the team that’s been a big help to you?
O’Brien: “I think Brooklyn DeLeye. She’s been really good at vocalizing and stepping up and being a leader on this team. She’s been a huge help getting me used to college.”
Question: Not a lot of volleyball freshmen enroll midway of their senior year in school but you did along with Trinity Ward and Georgia Watson. Did it help having two other newcomers with you?
O’Brien: “Yeah, it was really cool with everyone being here like that. All three of us are kind of in the same boat, so we don’t feel alone. At any time we can talk to each other and kind of help each other out and that’s a huge help.”
