Volleyball controls SEC destiny down the stretch

By T.J. Walker

The No. 11 UK volleyball team is on the verge of making history. Again.

This season is familiar to many of the players on the team. In fact, it’s nearly identical to last year. Like last season, if the Cats (24-2, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) win out,  they will be crowned SEC champions.

Sophomore middle blocker Becky Pavan and UK are in the same situation as they were last year in the SEC. Photo by Britney McIntosh | Staff

“That would be an amazing experience and it would be exciting for the school and program,” sophomore middle blocker Becky Pavan said. “I think it would be something we have been working on for so long finally pay off.”

UK is coming off a of dominating the opposition, only dropping one set. Next, the Cats hit the road to face two teams they have already defeated this season. All they have to do is win five games, but they know they can’t overlook any team.

“It’s a great feeling to be in this position, but we have five games left and it’s going to be challenging so we need to take care of those games instead of just winning out,” senior libero BriAnne Sauer said.

UK is first in the SEC with only one league loss. Close behind is Florida, which has won the conference for 19 consecutive seasons. The Gators are tied with Louisiana State for second place in the SEC with 14-2 league records. Tennessee is in fourth and still in the hunt with three conference losses.

Florida and LSU square off in Gainesville, Fla., on Friday — a game the Cats will likely keep an eye on. The Tigers got the best of the Gators in Baton Rouge, La., earlier this year, but if the Gators win, that complicates things for UK.

A Florida win over LSU would mean the Cats finish the season with only one loss — a loss to the Gators on Senior Day in Lexington — then the Cats and Gators would share the title, assuming the Gators win out.

However, if LSU beats the Gators, then UK could lose a game, even to Florida, and win the SEC. The Cats have the tiebreaker over the Tigers, beating them twice this season.

UK had the chance to win a share of the SEC last season, but in the last weekend of the season the Cats fell to second in the SEC. The Cats see parallels to last season, but are looking to do things differently this year.

“Right now it’s not any different, we were in a good position last year just like this year and we weren’t able to finish it out,” Sauer said. “But we were right there so this year we need to stay focused and take it one game at a time.”

The Cats insist practice isn’t too different now from the beginning of the year, but they need to do more of the same to make their goal a reality. Pavan said the team will need to keep their eyes on the prize to finish strong.

“Keeping the intensity high in practice, supporting the teammates morale, making sure were getting our sleep and just concentrating and focusing on winning the SEC and nothing else,” Pavan said.