Skinner, Cats Thankful for Big Blue Nation
Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner has done many things lately attempting to get fans inside Historic Memorial Coliseum to see his team play. Skinner has climbed on a desk, has gone to the top of Lexington’s tallest building, has ridden in a fighter jet and has made his way to the top of HMC.
Skinner was excited to see that more than 6,000 fans packed the house on Saturday as Kentucky clinched its second trip to the Final Four.
“It’s a dream to do that, and it’s hard to convince people by just saying it and talking about it and I just felt like I had to do something that would get the attention to people that don’t pay attention to volleyball,” Skinner said. “And so now that they’ve come, they’re hooked, and they’re going to be hooked for a while, it just is an exciting brand of sports and, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats, and the more we can do for the University of Kentucky, and the other teams in this department, it makes us all better. We can’t do that without the help of administration to see the value in volleyball.”
Saturday was the first time Kentucky had won a regional championship at home. When UK went to the Final Four in the spring of 2021, it was during the COVID pandemic, and the entire tournament was played in Omaha. Being able to win it at home, in front of a sold out crowd, was special to the UK head coach.
“A lot, magical stuff. It’s just it’s hard to do,” Skinner said. “It takes a collective effort and administrators, coaches, people, players, staff, managers, all of that. I’ve been there before, done it, and obviously I can’t wait to do it again, but I just want our players to be able to feel what it’s like to be at that level, because it’s a really cool experience, and I don’t worry about the effort we’re going to give on Thursday night, so I just I want to make sure we can enjoy the opportunity and anything happens in the Final Four.”
Senior Eva Hudson admitted that she soaked in the moment late in Saturday’s match.
“I mean it was absolutely magical,” Hudson said. “Every time they exceed expectations our whole team has for them. There was a time there at the end when I just looked around when it got really chaotic and it was a really cool experience and I just can’t thank them enough for an amazing year.”
Skinner’s promotional efforts have paid off as the Cats completed an undefeated home slate by beating Creighton on Saturday. The UK head coach, and the entire team, are thankful that the Big Blue Nation showed up, got loud and watched as their team advanced to Kansas City.
