Lilley's Huge Season Continues to Propel Volleyball Cats

Every great offense needs an outstanding quarterback or a magnificent point guard. Or, in the case of volleyball, an incredible setter.

The Kentucky volleyball team has had exactly that for the last three-plus seasons in the person of Madison Lilley. There’s not much that Lilley has not accomplished during her time at UK.

Team success? Indeed. Lilley has led the Cats to three straight SEC championships, with a fourth on the horizon. UK has been to a pair of Sweet 16’s and an Elite Eight during Lilley’s three seasons in Lexington.

Individual honors? Absolutely. Lilley was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2017, has been All-SEC in all three of her seasons and is a three-time All-American.

Lilley again led the UK offense to a big night on Wednesday as Kentucky swept Alabama in Memorial Coliseum. Lilley racked up 35 assists as the Cats hit .419 as a team in the victory. Lilley added eight digs, three service aces and three block assists in the win.

While Lilley has accomplished quite a bit during her first three seasons, she may have saved her best for last. Lilley has led the Cats to an 18-1 record and a number three ranking in the AVCA Division I volleyball poll. UK’s offensive attack is one of the best, if not the best, in the country.

How good is Kentucky offensively? The UK school record for highest team hitting percentage in a season came in 2017, when the Cats hit .318. That team went to the Elite Eight.

This year? Kentucky is hitting a whopping .356. That number not only leads the SEC – it leads the entire country.

No one would argue that Lilley is a tremendous setter, perhaps the best in the country. But what may make her the best overall player in the nation is the fact that she can do so many things well. Lilley’s impressive season, which will likely lead to her being named SEC Player of the Year, includes:

• 23 services aces this season, which leads the team and is eighth in the SEC;
• 149 digs, which is third on the team;
• 45 total blocks, which is second on the team;
• And, for good measure, she has 45 kills this season and a .402 hitting percentage

UK head coach Craig Skinner likes how Lilley is playing.

“She’s playing with a lot of confidence and she should,” Skinner said. “She does a great job of feeling who and when to set. We have a game plan, we have a scouting report of what we want to do offensively and she did a really good job of that tonight.”

Skinner knows that Lilley’s versatility is also very important.

“In transition and rallies, you have to have a feel for it,” Skinner said. “She can set all areas of the net. The feel and the ability to set a lot of different people is what separates her.”

And Skinner added one more important attribute about Lilley.

“And speed,” the UK head coach said. “She’s got great foot speed to track down balls that aren’t perfect.”

Lilley’s teammate, Alli Stumler, knows how talented and important her setter is. When asked what she does best, Stumler’s response was telling.

“(She does) It all. Her defense has stepped up tremendously this year, blocking, everything,” Stumler said. “I can’t name something that she’s not good at. Leading, on and off the floor. Her life is not all about volleyball, so off the floor, she’s someone you want to be around. In moments when we need somebody, we’re always looking to her to fire us up, to give us that extra push. She really brings it all for us.”

Other than setting, Lilley, who is already UK’s career leader in assists during the rally scoring era, knows there’s one thing she’s able to do that makes her job easier.

“I think communicate,” Lilley said. “Just the longer that I’m playing, the more that I’m realizing how vital that is. Even if that’s just talking after rallies. Keeping it really candid. You’re never too good to overcommunicate, so I think that’s definitely something I bring to the table.”

Lilley also thinks the communication with her teammates is how she builds chemistry with her hitters.

“You never know what type of set you like until you work through it and talk about it,” Lilley said. “Sometimes, it’s just playing with it, tweaking it. And you really have to be able to cater things towards people. That’s more difficult for some setters. It’s just kind of a way to make your hitters thrive. Understanding that and communicating through it, just to really understand your hitters.”

It’s the communication and understanding, in conjunction with her amazing physical talents, that make Lilley the favorite for SEC Player of the Year and a candidate for national player of the year.