Kentucky VB hosts No. 2 Nebraska in final match before SEC play

The No. 2 team in the country, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, visit Lexington in one final matchup before the ‘Cats begin Southeastern Conference play. Wednesday night was a crazy one for the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats as they were defeated 3-2 versus No. 3 Louisville. UK will have a shot at redemption on Sunday afternoon against Nebraska.

The match between the Cornhuskers and the Wildcats will be on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m. EST. ESPN should be foaming at the mouth for another opportunity to broadcast Kentucky volleyball. UK’s clash against Louisville was the most-watched volleyball match on any of the ESPN networks with 302k viewers. A testament to what Coach Craig Skinner has built here in Lexington and what volleyball means to the state, let alone the country.

ACE! 🏐

Wednesday’s @LouisvilleVB vs @KentuckyVB matchup was the most-viewed regular season volleyball match ever on ESPN networks with 302K viewers#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/dQQRUKsVXH

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 15, 2022

Points to Prove

Nebraska is the runners-up of the 2021 NCAA tournament, losing out to Wisconsin (a school that Kentucky has also lost to this season). The Cornhuskers will be looking to get back to the title game this year, which is in a familiar setting — Omaha. A city that Kentucky is familiar with this season after winning the 2022 Bluejay Invitational.

Coming into Sunday, both squads will be looking to avoid a losing week. Nebraska also lost earlier in the week 3-1 to No. 9 Stanford. The Cornhuskers are 7-1 on the year while the Wildcats are 5-3.

Kentucky is currently on an eight-match losing streak versus Nebraska, with the last win coming in October of 1983. A tall task is in front of the ‘Cats before their meeting on Sunday.

Does the craziness come to a close?

Since Friday, Sep. 9, Kentucky will have played the Nos. 6, 3, and 2 ranked teams in the country after the match versus Nebraska is completed.

Once conference play opens, the Wildcats are slated to play only two teams that are currently in the AVCA top 25. No. 24 Arkansas and No. 16 Florida are on the schedule for Kentucky, with both matchups away from Lexington.

After Nebraska, the Wildcats will have five days of rest before they host LSU next weekend. The Tigers are in the Bluegrass State for two days, playing Kentucky Friday and Saturday before the ‘Cats travel to Missouri on Wednesday, Sep. 28.

But hey, why look ahead? Sunday will already be a big enough match with more red set to invade Lexington. There have been enough shades of red in Memorial Coliseum over the past week. It might be time to tell traveling teams to wear alternate colors.