Head coach Craig Skinner spoke at the weekly football news conference Monday to update the media on the Kentucky volleyball team. Here is what Skinner had to say:

Skinner: We are 6-4 so far in, without question, the toughest pre-conference schedule we have had since I have been here at Kentucky. I think our average RPI opponent going into this weekend was roughly 32. (We have) four losses to arguably top-25 teams, but it exposed a lot about us and I think it really showed a great deal about where we need to be, things we need to improve as we start getting into conference play. Also, we’ve seen some fantastic things as well. we had chances to win those games we lost except for Nebraska. As long as we smooth some things out and get them going, I think there will be a lot of great wins ahead of us. I kind of look at this group as 50 percent – it’s 50 percent youth and 50 percent experience. And not necessarily youth as in age, but in being in a new position on this team. At times we’ve had three freshmen on the court, a brand new setter, and our seniors have really stepped up at times and so have our freshmen. I think that shows a lot of encouragement at least in our staff’s mind as to where we can be as the season progresses. The SEC starts this weekend. Tennessee was picked to win the SEC, but after the preseason so far, I think Florida gets the nod as to being the favorite. They are currently ranked fourth in the top 25 and probably will be ranked third this weekend. Florida is who we start with on Friday night, but it’s going to be an extremely intriguing conference season this year. There will be a lot of very close matches, and I know our team is excited to get going and what a way to start it with Florida on Friday night.Question: How would you describe your chemistry this year?Skinner: I think it’s actually very good. We have had a few different lineups and people going out of matches. I think the support, work ethic and commitment to each other is probably as good as it has been in the last couple years. That’s definitely a positive sign for this group.

Question: What exactly do you mean by physical play and are you getting it?Skinner: We are very terminal – we terminate and make errors, but our attackers are hitting the ball hard and probably one of the most encouraging things, in terms of physical play, is our blocking numbers. I don’t think any team has out-blocked us, with the exception of Nebraska. If we can continue to block like that and serve the way we do, then it puts us in position to be successful against most teams.

Question: What about Penn State losing? Did they just slip up or will this year be more wide open nationally?Skinner: It is wide open. Penn State has a turnover of three starters. Texas has a lot of new faces on the court; Stanford as well. Those top teams have new players and different systems. It’s the most wide open year in college volleyball since three, four years ago. And I think that goes the same for the SEC. There are teams that any night can beat anybody and I think that makes for an exciting year.

Question: With all the newer players in your lineup, how would you compare the communications on court during matches to a month ago?Skinner: The information being given I think is a lot more constructive than a month ago. They have some matches under their belt. The information is actually relevant to what is going on during the matches. I think the volume of excitement and energy isn’t as high as it was a month ago and that needs to improve. But in terms of relevant information, it’s very good.

Question: Is this a good time to have a week off, between what you have been through in the nonconference and getting ready for the SEC?Skinner: I kind of need to evaluate how we schedule. Each week we’ve had a match midweek and I think it really showed on Tuesday against Cincinnati, and they’re a great team. But we had 19 serving errors. I think it’s tough mentally to play back-to-back weeks with matches being scheduled in the middle of the week. We gave them yesterday off and today off with some cardio involved, so I think we’ll be more refreshed when we come into practice on Tuesday.