Early in the 2024 season, the Kentucky volleyball team faced some of the nation’s best teams. The Cats battled the likes of Nebraska, Louisville, Penn State, Stanford, SMU and Purdue during nonconference play. The Cats took their lumps at times, but that hard scheduling is certainly paying dividends in December.

On Friday night, Kentucky beat No. 15 Minnesota 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. After blitzing the Golden Gophers 25-11 in the first set, the Cats had to battle the rest of the way to claim the victory.

Having faced adversity early in the season definitely paid off in the postseason for the Cats, according to senior setter Emma Grome.

“The reason that we play the tough non-conference schedule is to be prepared this time of year,” Grome said. “We might have lost those games, but we learned a lot from those games. We learned how to battle, we learned what it takes, and now we’ve just seen our growth the whole season. We’ve been going up and up and I think we’re playing really well right now at the time that we need to be. And we’ve got that edge that we’ve been talking about, and we’ve got the grittiness. So, I think we’re ready and we’re just going to have to go in and take some chances.”

After a decisive win in set one, Kentucky knew that Minnesota would fight back and the Cats were prepared, according to Grome.

“We started off strong. You never know how games like that are going to start, but we knew they were going to come back a lot stronger than they did in the first set, and that’s what they did,” Grome said. “So, we knew we needed to sustain our level of energy and our level of play, and I think it dipped a little bit throughout the match, but we were able to get it back up and keep it pretty steady.”

UK head coach Craig Skinner liked his team’s toughness in Friday’s win.

“Just proud of the group. The mental toughness growth that we’ve had throughout the season is pretty significant. Even saw it in that match,” Skinner said. “Set two let it slip away and then tough as nails in the fourth so, proud of our group and to be able to hit .325 on a great defensive team like that is big time. And these two right here (Grome and Brooklyn DeLeye) carried a heavy stick today, and along with some others. Proud of Erin Lamb with 13 kills, almost .400, Jordyn Dailey .560, some huge numbers across the board and the blocking was a big part of the momentum shifts for us.”

The Cats know that one loss will end their season, and they mindful of that fact, according to DeLeye.

“I think we’re just not expecting the next day to happen. I think we’ve just got to play one day at a time,” DeLeye said. “I think we have such a huge senior class, and I think we’re just playing for them as well, because any game could be their last, and we obviously want to go as far as we can and get to that championship court. So, I think just having that in the back of our heads too, and just playing for each other.”

Playing for each other, along with the experience gained in tough matches earlier in the season, is paying off for the Cats now. A trip to the Sweet 16 awaits, and the Cats will be a formidable foe for Missouri, who UK will play next.