The Kentucky Wildcats women's volleyball is the team that represents the University of Kentucky in NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's volleyball competition. Kentucky is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats have been led by Craig Skinner since 2005.

The program became an official varsity sport in 1977 and has won the SEC regular season 14 times and won the NCAA championship in 2020.

Program record and history

The University of Kentucky first fielded a women's volleyball team in the fall of 1977. Since then the Wildcats have been to the NCAA Tournament 26 times, and won the won the SEC regular season 14 times.

Delphine Nemeth era (1977–1981) The program was started in 1977 under coach Delphine Nemeth who was also a nurse anesthesiologist at the University of Kentucky hospital. The team competed in the Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conference (KWIC) as part of the AIWA and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during this time. During this time, the SEC had the first women's volleyball conference championship, which was won by Kentucky over Tennessee in 1979. She was named KWIC Coach of the Year in 1979. Her record as coach was 126–74–1.

Mary Jo Peppler era (1982–1983) Mary Jo Peppler took over the program along with Marilyn McReavy in 1982 and they were named the SEC coaches of the year in 1983. They had a record of 65–21.

Kathy Deboer era (1984–1991) Kathy Deboer took over the program in 1984. She had a record of 209–97. In 1987 when the team won the SEC Championship and the SEC Tournament Championship, she was named SEC coach of the year and NCAA coach of the year. Deboer later served as the executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association for 17 years.

Fran Flory era (1992–1997) Fran Flory took over the program in 1992. She had a record of 78–80.

Jona Braden era (1998–2004) Jona Braden took over the program in 1998. She had a record of 90–119. The team had consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1992–93.

Craig Skinner era (2005–present) Craig Skinner took over the program in 2005. He is the winningest coach in Kentucky volleyball history and led Kentucky to their first-ever NCAA volleyball national championship in 2020. Skinner has led the team to 20 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He has also led the Wildcats to SEC championships every year from 2017 to 2025. The Cats won the SEC postseason volleyball tournament in 2025, which had not been played since 2005. As of the end of the 2025 season, he has a record of 498–157.

1977 Delphine Nemeth 19–14 – – 1978 Delphine Nemeth 32–22 6–3 – AIAW Region II Champions 1979 Delphine Nemeth 35–18–1 6–2 – – 1980 Delphine Nemeth 39–8 8–0 – – 1981 Delphine Nemeth 20–12 4–0 – 1982 Mary Jo Peppler 21–14 3–1 9th – 1983 Mary Jo Peppler 44–7 5–0 1st NCAA Regional Final 1984 Kathy Deboer 21–8 6–0 2nd – 1985 Kathy Deboer 14–23 2–4 6th – 1986 Kathy Deboer 22–12 4–2 3rd – 1987 Kathy Deboer 31–2 7–0 1st NCAA Regional Final 1988 Kathy Deboer 26–7 7–0 1st NCAA Round of 16 1989 Kathy Deboer 24–11 6–2 3rd – 1990 Kathy Deboer 22–12 7–1 2nd NCAA Round of 16 1991 Kathy Deboer 24–13 8–6 4th – 1992 Fran Flory 25–9 10–4 3rd – 1993 Fran Flory 29–4 12–2 3rd NCAA Second Round 1994 Fran Flory 13–21 8–6 3rd – 1995 Fran Flory 10–18 7–7 3rd East – 1996 Fran Flory 12–20 8–6 3rd East – 1997 Fran Flory 14–17 4–10 5th East – 1998 Jona Braden 16–14 7–9 5th East – 1999 Jona Braden 16–15 6–8 4th East – 2000 Jona Braden 6–21 3–11 5th East – 2001 Jona Braden 13–15 6–8 7th – 2002 Jona Braden 13–18 6–10 8th – 2003 Jona Braden 14–18 6–10 8th – 2004 Jona Braden 12–18 3–13 10th – 2005 Craig Skinner 17–12 10–6 5th NCAA First Round 2006 Craig Skinner 19–12 11–9 4th NCAA 2nd Round 2007 Craig Skinner 22–10 13–7 4th NCAA First Round 2008 Craig Skinner 26–6 17–3 2nd NCAA First Round 2009 Craig Skinner 29–5 17–3 2nd NCAA Round of 16 2010 Craig Skinner 17–14 11–9 T–5th NCAA First Round2011 Craig Skinner 28–5 17–3 2nd NCAA Round of 162012 Craig Skinner 22–11 14–6 4th NCAA Round of 162013 Craig Skinner 22–9 13–5 3rd NCAA Second Round2014 Craig Skinner 27–6 15–3 2nd NCAA Second Round2015 Craig Skinner 21–10 14–4 T–2nd NCAA First Round2016 Craig Skinner 23–8 15–3 3rd NCAA Second Round 2017 Craig Skinner 29–4 17–1 T–1st NCAA Regional Final2018 Craig Skinner 26–5 18–0 1st NCAA Round of 162019 Craig Skinner 25–7 16–2 T–1st NCAA Round of 162020 Craig Skinner 24–1 19–1 1st NCAA National Champions2021 Craig Skinner 25–5 17–1 1st NCAA Second Round2022 Craig Skinner 22–8 15–3 T–1st NCAA Round of 162023 Craig Skinner 21–8 17–1 1st NCAA Round of 162024 Craig Skinner 23–8 14–2 1st NCAA Regional Final2025 Craig Skinner 30–3 15–0 1st NCAA Runner-up Total 1085–538–1 470–207

See also List of NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs

References

External links