Kentucky Volleyball Has the Talent. Now Comes the Hard Part

(LEXINGTON, Ky.) — Craig Skinner has coached enough talented volleyball teams to know talent is never the entire answer.

It helps, of course.

Kentucky enters the season with experience, depth, size, and four players on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List. Brooklyn DeLeye is already one of the most accomplished players in the country. Kassie O’Brien was the national freshman of the year. Morgan Gaerte arrived from Notre Dame as a first-team All-ACC performer. Molly Tuozzo anchors a deep and proven back row.

Lizzie Carr, meanwhile, led Kentucky in blocks last season and gives the Wildcats another physical presence at the net.

On paper, Kentucky has almost everything.

But other teams are talented, too.

Wisconsin is talented. Pittsburgh is talented. Nebraska is talented. Texas A&M, which faced Kentucky in last season’s national championship match, is talented.

Skinner knows the difference between a roster capable of winning and a team that actually wins usually comes down to something less measurable.

“Once we establish our roles, are we able to maximize each person’s role, and are they able to maximize their own role to better themselves, but also better the people in front of them?” Skinner said. “If we’re able to have 100 percent role clarity, buy-in and ownership in our success as a group, then we have a chance to be our best.”

That may be the defining challenge for this Kentucky team.

Depth sounds wonderful in August. It becomes more complicated once lineups are established, playing time is divided, and accomplished players are asked to contribute in ways that may not produce individual recognition.

Kentucky has 17 players competing for limited opportunities. That competition can sharpen a team. It can also test one.

DeLeye believes the depth will ultimately work in Kentucky’s favor.

“Everybody’s just competing every day,” she said. “Everyone’s trying to fight for a spot on the court, but also playing to make the person next to you better.”

That final part matters most.

There is no such thing as too much talent if everyone remains invested in the success of the group. There can, however, be too many players worried about their own touches, statistics or minutes.

Tuozzo said Kentucky has already discussed the importance of accepting individual roles.

“We have such a deep team and such a large roster this year,” she said. “Everyone just accepting that role and playing for each other and doing that to the best of their abilities—that’s probably going to be the main thing for this team.”

O’Brien’s responsibility may be the most visible.

As Kentucky’s setter, she must blend all that talent into a functional offense. Her job is not simply to distribute the ball. It is to give hitters confidence, establish consistency, and recognize which teammate needs the next opportunity.

“I hope that my hitters know what ball they’re getting every single time,” O’Brien said. “If I can come out every day and do my job to the best of my ability, it will make everyone around me better.”

That is exactly the kind of thinking Skinner wants.

He has spent more than two decades building Kentucky into one of the nation’s premier programs. The Wildcats have won or shared nine consecutive SEC championships. They have reached the point where success is expected rather than celebrated as a surprise.

People assume Kentucky should keep winning simply because it has won before. That’s one of the great misconceptions surrounding sustained success.

“Every year is a brand-new season with a brand-new team,” Skinner said. “While we only lost one player that started for us last year, it’s still a completely new group of people that have to learn how to follow and lead and perform under pressure.”

The expectations will be enormous.

So will the pressure.

Kentucky will be hunted in the SEC and tested immediately by a brutal early schedule. Skinner welcomes that. He would rather expose weaknesses in August than discover them in December.

The Wildcats also appear capable of being more physical defensively. Skinner said the returning players are jumping higher and that Carr, Gaerte, and freshman Bryah Breaux all touch above 10 feet, 9 inches.

Gaerte may provide another element Kentucky needs.

Skinner described her as an intense competitor with tremendous drive. Gaerte described herself as bringing a calmer competitive presence, particularly as a blocker.

Carr brings preparation and discipline. DeLeye brings complete skill and star power. O’Brien brings control. Tuozzo brings energy, stability, and joy.

The challenge will be combining those qualities without losing the edge required to survive pressure.

Tuozzo believes Kentucky will need both.

“Playing with joy and that happiness was something that was really big last year,” she said. “But also just a little bit more fire and that edge.”

Skinner still has plenty of both.

After all the championships, all the practices and all the changes reshaping college athletics, he remains energized by the players.

“If you coach a group like this, you don’t see the end in sight,” he said.

Kentucky has the talent to make another championship run.

Whether it does will depend on whether 17 talented players can become one team.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. He currently serves as a columnist for Nolan Group Media and invites readers to follow him on social media @KYHuangs. His latest book is Whining for Posterity, available on Amazon.