Kentucky Volleyball’s Thursday afternoon match versus Mississippi State has been postponed, the school announced this morning.

In a press release, the university revealed the postponement is due to contact tracing in the Kentucky program.

“The action is consistent with COVID-19 management requirements developed by the SEC’s Medical Guidance Task Force,” a statement from the SEC sent out by UK Athletics said.

Friday afternoon’s match between the two is currently still scheduled for 1:00 p.m., while today’s contest has been moved to Saturday. The time for the rescheduled match has yet to be announced.

This marks the first time in the COVID era the volleyball team has had to alter their schedule due to COVID-19 concerns. Neither the school nor the SEC reported if any players actually tested positive for the virus.

While the situation is a first for the volleyball team, it is not a first for the university itself. The Wildcat men’s soccer team was forced to postpone its final game of the fall season due to positive COVID tests in the program.

Like soccer, volleyball is regarded as a “high transmission risk sport” by the SEC. This means polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is required “weekly during practice and three times weekly during competition periods.”

You can read the SEC Medical Guidance Task Force Requirements for COVID-19 Management here.

The SEC has had to cancel several football games this week due to rising COVID-19 cases throughout the conference. Of the seven games on the docket, only three remain: Vanderbilt at Kentucky, Arkansas at Florida and South Carolina at Ole Miss.

When they return to the court, the Cats will look to round out their fall regular season with an unblemished record 8-0 record. Now No. 2 in the nation, the team has swept Tennessee, Missouri and Auburn to open the year with only the two matches with the Bulldogs remaining.