The UK volleyball team and guests sit down for dinner at the Lexington Hilton for their end of the season banquet. (Ryan Suckow, UK Athletics)

After a second-straight trip to the Sweet 16, the Kentucky volleyball team held their annual season-ending volleyball banquet to celebrate the 2012 season.The guest list was stronger than it had ever been as several fans, donors, season ticket holders, and family members were in attendance for the celebration as the team looked back on yet another successful season and said goodbye one last time to a highly-decorated senior class.This highlight video was shown to commemorate the season and show off some of the top plays of the year and all of it’s great moments at home.
‘;
//–>

Among the highlights of the evening was guest speaker and former Kentucky volleyball head coach Kathy DeBoer. During her time at UK, she led the Wildcats to their only appearance in the Elite 8, is the last coach to win an SEC Championship (1988), and led UK to their most successful season with a mark of 31-2 in the 1987 season.

Former UK head coach and AVCA president Kathy DeBoer speaks addresses the crowd as guest speaker. (Ryan Suckow, UK Athletics)

DeBoer spoke to the team about several subjects about what they need to do to help get themselves over the hump and advance deeper in the NCAA Tournament. Through her memories as a head coach at Kentucky, her message was loud and clear: Enjoy and celebrate success, don’t fear failure, learn to deal with adversity, and use all of that to become a better team.After DeBoer’s entertaining and thought-provoking address, it was time for the the staff to talk about their team, class by class, and give some of their favorite accounts of the season. Head coach Craig Skinner had the privilege to talk about his well-decorated senior class that was coming off back-to-back Sweet 16s and NCAA Tournament appearances every season as a Wildcat.

UK head coach Craig Skinner talks to the crowd about the 2012 Senior Class. (Ryan Suckow, UK Athletics)

From there, the seniors were recognized by their teammates. The ladies shared some of their favorite memories of the seniors and gave their thanks for their leadership and friendship during their time together as teammates and friends.

Redshirt juniors Alexandra Morgan and Whitney Billings embrace senior Stephanie Klefot. (Ryan Suckow, UK Athletics)

And for the grand finale, each senior (Stephanie Klefot, Christine Hartmann, Ashley Frazier) took to the podium to give their final farewells. There were tears and laughs, stories and gratitude. It was a bittersweet end to the night as we know what all three seniors have given to the UK volleyball program, but it is certain as they leave UK, they will represent the team and the University in a professional and admirable way. With the banquet in the rear-view mirror, UK is looking forward to applying the lessons learned from DeBoer at the banquet and their experiences from the 2012 season. They’re already back in the gym preparing for the 2013 season with the anticipation of working their very hardest to make sure that 2013 is one of the best years in program history.

Related Stories

View all