Photo courtesy of UK Athletics
We are exactly a week away from the start of the UK Volleyball season and the Wildcats are already receiving recognition as one of the top teams in the country. Kentucky will begin the season ranked No. 14 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, nine spots higher than last season’s final ranking of 23rd.
The top-25 ranking marks the sixth consecutive season the Wildcats have made the preseason poll and the eighth time in the last nine years.
Coach Craig Skinner will mix talent and experience with the best recruiting class in program history. Kaz Brown, Ashley Dusek, Leah Edmond, Darian Mack, Emily Franklin, and Brooke Morgan will lead the way for the Wildcats, but they will have some new talent joining them this fall. Incoming freshmen Madison Lilley, Avery Skinner, Gabby Curry, and Kendyl Paris, were all AVCA Under Armor High School All-Americans.
Lilley, Skinner, Curry, and Paris made up the No. 5 class by PrepVolleyball, marking the highest ranked class in UK history. All four incoming freshmen were ranked in the top-100, led by Lilley at No. 4. Skinner was ranked 32nd, Curry 46th, and Lilley 81st.
Fans will get their first look at the 2017 Wildcats on August 16th, as the Wildcats host Western Kentucky for an exhibition at Memorial Coliseum.
