Confident Cats Ready for Postseason Play

In athletics, confidence can be a tricky thing. It’s not something a coach can automatically instill in a player or a team. Instead, confidence is something that has to be earned.

For the 2018 Kentucky volleyball team, confidence was not something that came about immediately. After starting 0-3, the Wildcats had to re-focus and determine what was important to them.

“We definitely had to sit down as a team,” said SEC Player of the Year Leah Edmond. “We did have a team meeting and we went through and were like, what are our goals this season, who do we want to be as a team, who do we want to represent.”

But it was still a few weeks more into the season before UK head coach Craig Skinner knew that his team was gaining confidence.

“We probably felt like we were in the right place training, in the right place lineup-wise, we’re in the right place vision-wise after the (Sept. 14) Louisville match,” Skinner said. “That’s always a tough match, hard-fought. We played really well in that match and came out with a 3-0 sweep on the road and I think, at that time, belief started to really settle in with our team and staff.”

Skinner saw progress again in his team’s SEC opener, on the road in Knoxville.

“At Tennessee, I think that was the first SEC match of the year, we were down 19-13 in the fourth set and came back and won that set and won that match on the road,” Skinner said. “Instances like that add layers of belief that you really need and I think those were moments that helped solidify our confidence.”

Once that confidence got rolling, it would not be stopped. In fact, Kentucky is still riding a wave of confidence, to the tune of a 21-match winning streak, an undefeated SEC regular season championship and a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Friday in Memorial Coliseum.

With the postseason beginning, Skinner likes his team’s confidence level.

“It seems to be in a good place,” Skinner said. “We’re practicing well. It seems like it’s in a good place. Even against Auburn (on Saturday), we’re down five or six points in the middle of the second set and our team responds. They like challenges, I think they respond to those challenges. They have a competitive spirit about them that allows them to respond. We’re certainly going to need that against good teams this weekend.”

All season, Skinner has seen his team fight to reach its goals.

“This team competes. Practice is a battle all the time, our seniors make sure of that,” Skinner said. “They don’t like to be behind. When they get behind, they get after it. They like to respond to challenges. We have several alpha competitors on the team, and it’s really fun to be around.”

Kentucky opens postseason play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET against intrastate opponent Murray State. Skinner knows that the Racers will present a challenge to his confident group.

“Coach (David) Schwepker at Murray State, I don’t know how many championships he’s won, but he’s got a heck of a program going,” Skinner said. “I think they’ve been in the (Ohio Valley Conference) championship match four straight years, 16 straight wins on the season. Pretty impressive team and someone we’re going to prepare well for and look forward to playing.”

The confident Cats, playing at home, will be ready for any challenge presented to them this weekend and beyond.