Kentucky VB remains in top 10 ahead of massive showdown with Louisville

After a three-match week saw Kentucky volleyball post a 2-1 record, the Wildcats will bring a top 10 ranking into Louisville this week.

Kentucky checked in at No. 7 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, which was released Monday, a four-spot drop from last week’s position. Craig Skinner’s squad was swept by Pitt (now ranked No. 5) last Wednesday in Texas, but bounced back in impressive fashion over the weekend. The ‘Cats played their first two home matches at Memorial Coliseum on Saturday and Sunday, taking down No. 10 SMU 3-1 and unranked Houston 3-0, respectively.

A perfect weekend for Kentucky sets the stage for a massive in-state rivalry showdown in a couple of days. The Louisville Cardinals, now ranked No. 3 with a 7-1 record, will host UK on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ET inside the KFC Yum! Center on ESPNU. It’ll be the second-to-last non-conference match of the season for the ‘Cats.

Louisville will be the fifth top-10 opponent Kentucky has faced in the non-conference. UK is 2-2 in those matchups so far (wins over Penn State and SMU, losses to Nebraska and Pitt). After Louisville, the ‘Cats will take on unranked Washington this weekend at home before entering SEC play, which features plenty of ranked foes. Kentucky still has to take on No. 2 Texas, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Missouri, and No. 24 Tennessee over the coming months.

But before we look too far ahead, UK has to deal with the Cardinals. Louisville’s strength of schedule hasn’t been on par with Kentucky’s thus far. UL is 1-1 against ranked opponents, losing to No. 2 Texas 3-2 before beating No. 18 Creighton 3-1 a couple of days later. This will be another big challenge for Skinner and Co. in a season that has already been filled with plenty of them.

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