Disappointing Season Does Not Diminish Cats' 2025 Season
It did not end the way they had hoped, but the 2025 Kentucky volleyball team will be remembered as one of the best in school history after an incredible performance this season.
Kentucky fell to Texas A&M in the NCAA Volleyball national championship game on Sunday in Kansas City, ending a 27-game winning streak that included several notable accomplishments along the way.
UK (30-3) won a ninth consecutive Southeastern Conference title, going undefeated in league play despite the league being very strong, especially at the top. The SEC sent three teams to the Elite Eight and two to the title match.
Senior outside hitter Eva Hudson was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Newcomer of the Year. Setter Kassie O’Brien was named SEC Freshman of the Year and Craig Skinner was named SEC Coach of the Year. In addition to Hudson and O’Brien, junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was the third UK player named first-team All-SEC. Junior libero Molly Tuozzo was named to the second team.
The Cats followed that up by winning the first SEC Volleyball Tournament in 20 years. In the championship game, Kentucky rallied from two sets down to reverse sweep Texas for the championship.
Four Cats were named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Americans. Hudson, who was also an AVCA Player of the Year finalist, made the first team along with DeLeye. O’Brien, who was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year, made the second team, while Tuozzo was on the third team.
Looking at the big picture, Kentucky became just the fifth SEC team to make it to the volleyball final four. Florida has done it twice, UK has now done it twice and A&M made their first appearance in the Final Four.
When looking at this season from a UK perspective, it ranks among the best ever by any women’s athletic program. Kentucky won the NCAA Women’s Cross Country title in 1988 and volleyball won the 2020 national title. This season would likely be next on the list.
Hudson echoed those thoughts following the match.
“After the last ball went down, I said, this is nothing to be not proud of,” Hudson said. “We had an amazing season. We had so many amazing wins. The last two sets don’t define our season. This group is just so special. It just makes it harder to leave, which I would say is a good thing, ’cause if you’re happy to leave, then you’re not doing something right.”
It certainly didn’t end the way the Cats had hoped, but this season will go down as a huge success in the history of UK Athletics.
