Kentucky coach Craig Skinner had music from “Top Gun” playing during his message to UK fans Tuesday. (UK Volleyball Photo)
No one is better at promoting volleyball than Kentucky coach Craig Skinner.
Annually he plays a monstrous schedule not only to help prepare his team for postseason play but also to promote the sport and hopefully attract new fans.
Skinner has Kentucky in position to return to the Final Four for the first time since its national championship season of 2020. No. 1 seed Kentucky plays Cal Poly Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum in the Sweet 16 and would face either No. 2 seed Arizona State or No. 3 seed Creighton Saturday in the Elite Eight if it wins.
Skinner has been on a roll lately. He stood on top of a table at his press conference asking fans to pack Memorial Coliseum for the match against Tennessee and fans did exactly that. He went to the rafters in Rupp Arena to ask fans to keep coming. If that wasn’t enough, he went to the highest point in Lexington, atop the Fifth Third Building, to plea for Kentucky fans to attend opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament at Memorial Coliseum.
However, Skinner outdid himself this week and went to even higher heights to ask for Kentucky fans to support his team. He was in a jet somewhere in the clouds when he said this: “BBN, the tickets are going fast. About 48 hours to match time, we need you at Memorial Coliseum at 3:30. You don’t have to be first for your tickets, but don’t be last. Go Cats.”
You had to love that Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone was playing in the background just like it was for the “Top Gun” movie with Skinner doing his best Tom Cruise impersonation.
Earlier Tuesday Kentucky swept the top honors on the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association All-South Region Team. Lizzie Carr, Brooklyn DeLeye, Eva Hudson, Kassie O’Brien and Molly Tuozzo were all named to the first team, tying the program record set in 2020-21 when UK also placed five on the all-region team.
Hudson, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, was named AVCA Region Player of the Year. O’Brien, the SEC Freshman of the Year, was voted the AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year.
Skinner, the SEC Coach of the Year again, was the South Region Coach of the Year as he should have been with his team on a 24-game win streak after winning both the SEC regular season and tournament championships.
Skinner has been the AVCA Regional Coach of the Year five times and Hudson’s player of the year award is the sixth in UK history as she joins three other UK players to win the award: Leah Edmond (2017, 19), Madison Lilley (2018, 2020) and Alli Stumler (2021). O’Brien becomes the fourth player to win freshman of the year joining Edmond (2016), Lilley (2017) and Emma Grome (2021).
All five Kentucky players on the regional team for Kentucky will now be considered for AVCA All-America honors.
2 Responses
This man will do anything to promote his program and it works.
As a UK alumnus I am so proud of our volleyball team.!
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