Cats Continue Fifth-Set Heroics

Kaz Brown said last weekend the Kentucky Wildcats believe themselves to be “the best game five team in the country.”
 
They had another chance to prove it on Friday.
 
UK went the distance again, this time overcoming BYU in a classic Sweet 16 affair in Memorial Coliseum to reach its first Elite Eight in 30 years and first ever in the 64-team era of the NCAA Tournament.
 
“Every team is really good at this point in time and Brigham Young is no exception,” head coach Craig Skinner said. “For us to get through that match, I gotta credit two groups of people for toughness. One, obviously, our team, for battling back the way they did in a couple of different situations, being down 2-1 and then going on a 13-3 or 14-4 run in the fifth. And then our fans, for being tough enough to get here at noon.”
 
In front of a progressively more raucous crowd that showed up in spite of the early start to give the Cats a significant home-court advantage, No. 4 UK – after losing the first and third sets – rallied from deficits of 5-1 and 6-2 in the final set to down No. 13 BYU.
 
“That was a lot of fun,” Emily Franklin said. “That was the most fun I’ve had in my five years in any game, I would say.”
 
That’s saying a lot coming from a member of a senior class that has now won 100 matches, but never made it to the Elite Eight. Franklin, who delivered 12 kills, seven blocks and an indispensable calming presence, admits that fact was on their minds.
 
“It’s just awesome,” Franklin said. “In the past years we’ve definitely struggled and we couldn’t get over that hump. Once we got into the Sweet 16, I think our minds were set on moving further.”
 
UK did so by winning their second consecutive five-set match coming on the heels of a comeback from 0-2 in the second round against WKU. The victory gives the Cats a perfect 5-0 record in five-set matches and yet more reason to believe in themselves when it’s win or go home.
 
“I think we’re confident,” sophomore Leah Edmond said. “I think we know we can do it and I don’t know really what else to say about that. We’re just really good in the fifth set. I can’t explain it.”
 
Skinner has a bit more definitive explanation. He credits UK’s strength in game five in large part to a practice drill passed along by John Dunning, Stanford’s retired five-time national champion head coach.
 
“They can’t get out of practice until they win it,” Skinner said. “It’s something that we’ve worked on since August and it’s something that we’ve preached, but also just the balance of our team. Anyone can be effective offensively in that match. In that match it really showed up.”
 
The balanced effort was led by Edmond, who had five kills in the fifth set and 21 for the match.
 
“She’s a gamer and she’s a competitor and she probably wanted a couple swings early in the match that she had that she made errors that she would want those back,” Skinner said. “But no play affects the next play with her. She’s mentally tough and just wants the ball in crunch time and it showed in that situation.”
 
The last component of UK’s fifth-set dominance, in Skinner’s mind, comes down to simply having been there before.
 
“You get the confidence in practice, but you also get it by being in those situations throughout the year,” Skinner said. “We were in a couple in pre-conference and we were in one against LSU and then again against Western Kentucky. So the more often you’re in it, the more comfortable you feel having to compete when the pressure’s there.”
 
The pressure was certainly there Friday, ratcheting up with every point. Skinner was focused on leading his team, but he couldn’t help but notice the crescendo.
 
“You can feel it, “Skinner said. “Whether you hear the sound or not, you can feel the energy. You can feel the intensity. Our team certainly doesn’t lack intensity. I think that’s something we’ve been able to pull from throughout the year and I think they actually get more excited in those situations than wide-eyed.”
 
That bodes well for Saturday, when the Wildcats will host fifth-seeded Nebraska at 4 p.m. with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
 
“I think we just have to find a way to recover and rejuvenate and fuel up and get ready,” Skinner said. “It’s obviously going to be a heck of a match.”