PREVIEW: Kentucky Volleyball faces no. 5 Louisville at 7 p.m.

It’s the Battle of the Bluegrass on the Volleyball court later this evening as the Kentucky Volleyball team squares off against the fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

Here’s what you need to know about the two clubs before they square off at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on the UL campus:

As mentioned, Louisville is a top-five team in the country right now. They are a terrific team. The Cards are undefeated at 8-0 and have won seven of those matches 3-0, including their last five outings.

One of those matches came against ninth-ranked Purdue — the only ranked team Louisville has faced ahead of their matchup with the eighth-ranked Kentucky Volleyball team.

Craig Skinner emphasized Louisville’s experience yesterday. Kentucky has just five total upperclassmen on the roster. UofL has 10, including eight players in their fourth or fifth season with the program. Their setter is a graduate player and four of their top five attackers are upperclassmen. And the one that isn’t may be the most talented of the group.

The Kentucky Volleyball team, on the other hand, has been the opposite. UK was led by freshmen at the setter and libero spots last weekend. And the top hitter, Madi Skinner, is just a sophomore.

Despite their youth, the ‘Cats have shown they can still challenge the best of the best. Last weekend’s loss at Wisconsin was ugly at times, but Kentucky Volleyball battled to within a couple of points of winning two straight sets. Which would have forced a fifth set on the road against the no. 2 team in the country.

Craig Skinner and his girls can also expect to see the same sort of raucous road environment they saw last week. This is what Alli Stumler and the ‘Cats had to put up with last weekend:

Kentucky Volleyball won’t be the favorite tonight vs. the Cardinals. But doubting a Craig Skinner team vs. Louisville hasn’t been a smart bet in over a decade.

Tune in to ESPNU at 7 p.m. for a top-10 matchup involving one of college sport’s finest rivalries. Go ‘Cats.