Hard Work Pays Off for Skinner in Season-Opening Sweep

Kentucky volleyball senior Avery Skinner worked extremely hard in the offseason to get herself in better shape and to work on her skills on the court. On Friday night, Skinner was able to show that her hard work paid off, as she led Kentucky to a 3-0 sweep over Tennessee in the season opener for both teams.

Skinner made the most of her summer and her time in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I kind of started in the spring just looking at diet, exercise, whatever that might be,” Skinner said. “Quarantine was the time when I was able to hone that in, I didn’t really have anything else to do but school and work out. I did that, I would work out twice a day, I was eating really clean, kind of changed my diet. It was just a really good couple of months for me.”

Those really good months led to some really good play on the court Friday night inside Memorial Coliseum. Skinner led the Cats with 13 kills, while making no errors on 24 swings. That equated to a .542 hitting percentage for the senior from Katy, Texas. The 13 kills were the most that Skinner has had in a match since August of 2018, at the beginning of her sophomore season.

For good measure, Skinner tied her career high with four digs and had a service ace in her outstanding all-around effort.

“It feels great,” Skinner said after the match. “It’s just amazing to finally be back, playing against other people.”

As for her plan on Friday night, she tried to keep it very simple.

“Just trying to eliminate errors. If I don’t have the perfect set, just managing the ball,” Skinner said. “And then whenever the set is there, trying to kill the best that I can.”

Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner, no relation, was pleased to see his senior playing well.

“The staff is really proud of her,” Skinner said. “Avery put herself in position to succeed and she took advantage of her opportunities in preseason. She earned the opportunity to do this and she took advantage of it.”

Skinner’s career at Kentucky got off to a very fast start. In her freshman year, she was one of the players who helped lead UK to the Elite Eight. She had 362 kills that season, including 24 matches where she had at least 10 kills. Her outstanding play earned her a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team.

Her sophomore year started in much the same way. In the season’s first two matches, she had 15 kills against Creighton and 14 against USC. But from there, Skinner saw her playing time diminish. After the month of August, she did not have more than nine kills in any match.

Last season, Skinner had just 53 kills all season, while playing in 26 sets. That was not to her liking, so she made changes to her body and to her skillset. And both are paying off in a big way.

Skinner is a favorite among her teammates and they enjoyed seeing her play well on Friday night.

“Avery is one of those people who is in your corner all the time,” said sophomore middle blocker Azhani Tealer. “She worked so hard over quarantine. She’s a leader for all of the younger outsides, for everyone. It’s really cool to see that. She killed it tonight.”

As for the match, Craig Skinner was pleased with how his team started the season.

“Very pleased with the first time out,” Skinner said. “Good balance offensively. I thought the experience of our four seniors and starters returning was a big advantage for us in the first match.”

And for one of those seniors, Avery Skinner, it was a night where she got to enjoy the results that came from a lot of hard work in the offeseason.