Long live the queens: Kentucky VB wins 6th straight SEC championship
Maybe it wasn’t meant to be after an opening night five-set defeat to Marquette. Perhaps there were doubts after three straight losses to ranked schools Louisville, Nebraska, and LSU. Would the brutal non-conference scheduling come back to haunt Kentucky?
There might have been questions, assumptions, or doubts about this squad, but what is to be said now? Well, for starters that’s six. Six straight SEC volleyball championships for this program. Unprecedented conference domination that takes us back to 2017. While some had other things on their minds — like grabbing the right glasses for a solar eclipse — Kentucky volleyball had other plans: to become the best.
Fast forward to the present day, where the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats just clinched a share of the SEC and have picked up some neat accolades along the way. The neatest being a national championship in 2020. Now the ‘Cats sit amidst confetti again, celebrating their conference takeover that has lasted oh so long.
Kentucky knew what needed to be done coming into its last regular season match. They swept South Carolina on Friday afternoon and would face off with the Gamecocks one last time on Saturday. No. 12 Florida was in the same spot as the Wildcats. Both needed the other to lose on the final day of regular season play to become the outright champion of the SEC. However, both Florida and Kentucky would win their final matches and sit as co-champions atop the conference — for the third time in six years.
How it happened
Both the first and second sets saw South Carolina come out the gates on a roll, with some catch-up to be done by the ‘Cats. Kentucky got it rolling late in the first with a 21-16 lead that had them in control. Reagan Rutherford dominated the opening frame adding four kills as UK won the first set 25-21.
However, as the Wildcats began to pull away in the second, South Carolina would have an answer this time. Leading 24-21, Kentucky was one point away from a set victory, but the Gamecocks rallied. Five consecutive points from the visitors put the ‘Cats on their heels as they faced a set point. Both squads traded blows like heavyweights in the MGM Grand. It was Azhani Tealer and Erin Lamb who would have the last laugh though as they stuffed South Carolina at the net and Kentucky took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Grove St. was waiting
There wasn’t as much drama in what would be the final set. There was heart, however. Eleanor Beavin’s tremendous pancake dig set up Lamb’s kill that put the ‘Cats up two early. Tealer picked up her 15th kill of the match a few moments later and it all spun out of control for South Carolina.
Elise Goetzinger was the final Wildcat to touch the ball in the regular season. Her kill ended the match and completed the weekend sweep of the Gamecocks. After that, pure jubilation. The SEC championship shirts came out and Wocka Flocka Flame blasted over the speakers.
You know the words, “It’s a party, it’s a party, it’s a party.”
Destiny and destination unknown
Kentucky awaits its fate on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. when the Selection Committee will determine where the Wildcats sit in terms of national seeding. Assuming Kentucky receives a top-16 national seed, which they certainly have the RPI for, they will get the opportunity to host regional play in Lexington.
This shouldn’t be the end of the road inside Memorial Coliseum, with tournament play set to begin Thursday, Dec. 1. If given a top-16 seed, Kentucky would host first and second-round matches next weekend. Given, they win their first-round match.
Whether it’s a conference title shared with Florida, it doesn’t take away from the fact of what this team accomplished. They scheduled incredibly hard with Nebraska, Louisville, and Wisconsin — all top-5 teams. They won the 2022 Bluejay Invitational in Omaha. Down the stretch, they split a pivotal road series against Florida. This team is tough.
However, I don’t think toughness alone wins you six straight SEC championships. That’s a culmination of everything, even the things that fans don’t see. Whatever it is, it’s working. Here’s to a good time and a long time, here’s to a dynasty.
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