Kentucky defeated Arkansas 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) on Nov. 17, making it the SEC Conference champion for the ninth season in a row. This moved Kentucky to a 15-0 record in the SEC, giving it a perfect .1,000 SEC winning percentage.
With the SEC Tournament beginning Friday, Nov. 21, here are predictions for who the Wildcats will be facing following their double bye.
First round: Arkansas vs. Oklahoma
In match one of the SEC Tournament, No. 16 Arkansas is taking on No. 9 Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is currently 15-10 overall and 7-8 SEC. Arkansas is currently 5-21 overall and 1-14 SEC. During its last match, Oklahoma defeated Arkansas 3-1. The Sooners had a large lead in set one before Arkansas came back and took over in set two, before Oklahoma would seal the victory, taking sets three and four of the match.
Oklahoma has 6-foot-2 outside hitter Alexis Shelton. She put up 23 total kills against Kentucky and forced the Cats into changing their defensive scheme in response to her success.
“Well, part of it was number 12 cooled off a little bit because she was on fire for most of the match, but our block just wasn’t quite setting up in the right spot. And, you know, they run it super fast, so it gets you uncomfortable,” Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner said.
Overall, I believe Oklahoma has what it takes to dominate the match and defeat Arkansas to move on to day two of the tournament, where it would face Auburn.
Second round: Auburn vs. Oklahoma
Auburn is currently ranked eighth in the SEC with a 7-8 record and a 16-10 overall record.
Auburn and Oklahoma’s last matchup was close fought, with Auburn defeating the Sooners 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25). Despite Oklahoma having leadership in Shelton, who recorded 389 kills this season and leads a very dominant offense, Auburn has the No. 2-ranked defense in the SEC and No. 3 blocks per set nationally.
Between Oklahoma’s dominant offense and Auburn’s defense, the match will be intense and tightly contested. My predictions have Auburn taking the first two sets, Oklahoma bouncing back to win set three and the Tigers ultimately closing out the match in the fourth set, advancing Kentucky to play in the quarterfinals.
Third round: Kentucky vs. Auburn
No. 1 Kentucky advanced straight to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament with its perfect SEC record. My prediction is that it will face No. 8 Auburn after defeating the Sooners in the second round.
Kentucky has been a dominant team overall this year. Kentucky brings an extremely powerful offensive line with Brooklyn DeLeye, Eva Hudson and Kassie O’Brien.
DeLeye has a record 401 kills this season and a 4.66 kills-per-set average, and is a strong defensive player with 185 digs, while also standing as the reigning SEC Volleyball Player of the Year.
This will be a dominant start to the offense. On top of that, Kentucky has outside hitter Eva Hudson, who has 390 kills, a 4.3 kills-per-set percentage and also plays defense with 206 digs. Hudson was recently named the 2025 SEC Volleyball Player of the Year, making her and DeLeye the most dynamic duo in SEC volleyball.
However, Kentucky also has a hidden gem on offense in its freshman setter, Kassie O’Brien. O’Brien has a record 875 assists and sets up the perfect offense for the team to fight off Auburn’s extremely dominant defense.
Kentucky not only has a powerful offense but also leads in defenders. Libero Molly Tuozzo has 328 digs this season, adding to her 983 career digs with the Cats, setting Kentucky up for the perfect defense.
On the other side of the court, Auburn is ranked No. 2 in the SEC for its defense and No. 3 for blocking with libero Alexis Dacosta, who has 326 digs, and middle blocker Kate Mansfield, tallying 136 blocks this season, absolutely dominating defense.
Overall, with the mix of Auburn’s strong defense and Kentucky’s powerful offense, this will be the game to see in the tournament. My prediction is Kentucky wins 3-2, losing the first two sets and winning the final three.
Kentucky volleyball will face Auburn on Sunday, Nov. 23, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The match is set for noon EST and will air live on SEC Network+.
