Kentucky Volleyball already knows what it looks like to beat Texas A&M. Back in October, the Cats walked into Reed Arena and handed the Aggies a four-set loss when they were ranked No. 9 in the country.

Now the stakes are just a little bit higher. Twenty-seven straight wins, one more banner on the line, and a rematch against one of the most physical teams in America.

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First, a reminder of what happened last time.

Kentucky hit .293 as a team in that win, piling up 63 kills on 157 swings. Eva Hudson exploded for 24 kills on .373 hitting, and Brooklyn DeLeye added 19 kills. Lizzie Carr was almost automatic in the middle, finishing with 11 kills on .588.

The Cats’ sideout numbers told the story. They were at 68% or better in each of the last three sets and closed it out 21–25, 25–22, 25–15, 27–25. Texas A&M hit just .205 and never really found a rhythm once Kentucky’s block settled in.

Can Kentucky’s firepower crack Texas A&M’s huge frontline for a second time?

This time around, Texas A&M is even sharper. The Aggies are 28–4 overall, 14–1 in the SEC (that lone loss is to the Cats), and they do just about everything at a high level. They hit .298 as a team with 14.6 kills per set. Their opponents hit only .187 and average 11.5 kills per set. They control the net with 2.61 blocks per set and are steady in the backcourt with 13.3 digs per set.

Individually, it starts with outside hitter Logan Lednicky and six rotation arm Kyndal Stowers. Lednicky has 456 kills, 4.11 per set, on .312 hitting, and still gives you over 2.6 digs per set with 98 total blocks. Stowers adds 375 kills at 3.5 per set on .281 hitting and 2.26 digs per set, plus 63 blocks. That is a ton of volume and a ton of pressure from the pins.

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In the middle, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Morgan Perkins are a nightmare at the net. Cos-Okpalla is hitting .430 with 236 kills and a ridiculous 195 total blocks, about 1.7 per set. Perkins is at .420 with 95 blocks of her own. Setter Maddie Waak runs the show with efficient choices, and A&M’s offense rarely beats itself.

The matchup problem is obvious. Texas A&M’s front line will test Kentucky’s ability to terminate in tight windows and stay patient when rallies stretch out. The Aggies are used to winning the block battle and forcing teams into low-efficiency swings.

The good news for Kentucky is that this team is built to hit high-level blocks and has the numbers to prove it. The Cats are hitting .293 on the season with 14.86 kills per set, almost a mirror of A&M’s attack. Opponents are at .188 with 12.35 kills per set.

Kentucky’s firepower is relentless. DeLeye and Hudson are basically co-number one options. DeLeye has 536 kills at 4.62 per set on .284 hitting, plus 2.34 digs per set and 41 total blocks. Hudson has 533 kills at 4.59 per set on .323, 2.38 digs, and 49 blocks. You cannot load up on one without the other punishing you.

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In the middle, Carr is the key. She is hitting .349 with 222 kills and 136 total blocks, 1.23 per set. When Carr is winning quicks and closing out on the edges, Kentucky’s defense goes up a level. Around her, Brooke Bultema and Kennedy Washington both hover around .260 hitting and are capable of stealing seams and putting extra stress on Texas A&M’s middles.

The first contact battle might decide everything.

Kentucky side outs best when libero Molly Tuozzo and the backcourt are in rhythm. Tuozzo is at nearly 4 digs per set with 456 total digs and has been nailing in serve receive most of this run. Molly Berezowitz gives them another steady defender and server. If those two control the ball, setter Kassie O’Brien can run her full menu and keep A&M’s block guessing.

O’Brien has 1,244 assists this season, 11.01 per set, and mixes tempo and angles as well as anyone in the country. When she has all three levels available, Kentucky becomes almost impossible to load up against. If she is stuck living on high balls to the pins, Texas A&M’s block has the size to tilt the match back their way.

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On the flip side, Kentucky’s serve needs to make Waak uncomfortable. The Cats average 1.21 aces per set with 140 total, but the bigger thing is disruptive serving that drags A&M off the net just enough to let Carr, Washington, and company get hands on Lednicky and Stowers. Kentucky has 282.5 total blocks this year, 2.44 per set, and they just held Wisconsin’s high-powered attack in check by turning the fifth set into a wall. This has to look similar.

Texas A&M’s resume says they can win this match in a lot of ways. They have more than enough offense, they defend with discipline, and they do not hand out free points. But Kentucky has already seen its best shot, has already solved them once, and is playing with the swagger that comes from a 27-match win streak and a miracle comeback against Wisconsin that will live in program lore.

If Kentucky passes at even an average level, keeps its serve in play, and forces Texas A&M to hit into a loaded block over and over, the Cats will have every chance to finish the job.

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Win this one, and it is 28 straight, another trophy for the case, and the kind of back-to-back run that redefines what Craig Skinner has built in Lexington.

🗓️ Date: Sunday, Dec. 21
🕐 Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
📺 TV Channel: ABC
📍 Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
📱 Online Streaming Through Cable/Satellite: ABC is included in most standard cable and satellite packages. Check your local listings.

Streaming Services: You can stream the game on services that carry local channels, including: Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Sling TV (Orange Plan)
You may also be able to pick up the game over-the-air for free if you are near an ABC affiliate.

Odds: FanDuel has Kentucky favored by 1.5 sets. The Moneyline for Kentucky is -156, and for A&M, it’s +120.

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Prediction: Kentucky rides the double-headed monster of Hudson and DeLeye to title number 2, Kentucky in 4 sets.

What say you, BBN? Send us your game prediction in the comments!

Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion. Go CATS!

The two best women’s volleyball teams will square off in the national championship match.

Kentucky takes on Texas A&M in the NCAA Division I finals on Sunday, Dec. 21, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The NCAA women’s volleyball finals will air on ABC and can be streamed live on DirecTV Stream (free trial), fuboTV, ESPN+ and other live TV streaming services.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NCAA Division I women’s volleyball finals

When: Sunday, December 21, 2025

Who, when: Kentucky vs. Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri

TV: ABC

Where to watch the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament live and on demand for free

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Here is more about the game from the Lexington Herald-Leader, via the Tribune News Service:

Two days out from the NCAA volleyball national championship match, Texas A&M’s Jamie Morrison issued an affecting truth to his players.

“Thirty-five athletes have the right to practice today,” Morrison said. “And … each one of our athletes is one of those.”

For the first time in the history of the sport, the national title match will feature two Southeastern Conference teams. No. 3 Texas A&M, in its first-ever national championship, and No. 1 Kentucky, in pursuit of its second-ever national title, and first since 2020-21.

It’s a picture that, even 10 years ago, not many would believe. But it’s not at all surprising that the only two head coaches in America still allowed to show up to practice this weekend.

Craig Skinner had turned down a few other head coaching jobs before finally deciding to accept one in 2004 at the University of Kentucky.

Skinner had experienced national recognition within the volleyball landscape at the high school and club levels in Muncie, Indiana, before successful tenures as an assistant coach for Wisconsin, Ball State (on the men’s team) and then finally at Nebraska, where he — under the legendary John Cook — won his first NCAA national championship in the year 2000.

By the end of his four seasons with the Cornhuskers, Skinner had played a role in guiding the program to an overall record of 154-11 and four-straight Big 12 championships.

When UK director of athletics Mitch Barnhart came calling to ask Skinner to lead the Wildcats, now 21 years ago, Skinner felt that it was the best choice he could make.

Ahead of Sunday’s national championship match — Kentucky’s second under Skinner and second in program history — the head coach described himself as the kind of guy who “probably operates a little bit more on feel than others.”

“And when I got here, and Mr. Barnhart picked me up at the airport, I just had a two-hour conversation with him,” Skinner said. “And felt like this is where I belonged. And it was, the people of Kentucky are who I am as a person. And I thought that was pretty easy to sell.”

But the Wildcats hadn’t recorded a winning season for half a decade, nor made the NCAA Tournament since 1993.

Kentucky had won five Southeastern Conference Tournament titles since the league championship’s inception in 1979, but the SEC was nowhere near the heavy-hitting volleyball conference that it’s become. The SEC Tournament quite literally ceased to exist following the 2005 edition.

“Material things don’t motivate me,” Skinner said. “But people and feelings do, and so Kentucky was all about that. And I can buy into hard work and effort and earning things.”

Morrison, passionate about international and Olympic-level volleyball, served as an assistant for the United States Men’s National Volleyball Team in the mid-to-late aughts before taking a job as an assitant for the U.S. Women’s National Team.

During his stints with each, he won three Olympic medals — gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the men’s team, silver in the 2012 London Olympics and bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics with the women’s team. He remains the head coach of the U.S. Women’s U19 team.

Morrison also helped establish League One Volleyball, a professional league established in 2024, and served as the league’s director of sports performance.

Dating back to 1999, beginning at his alma mater UC Santa Barbara, Morrison also made a slew of women’s collegiate assistant coaching stops, continuing to do so amid his immense success at the Olympic and professional levels — most recently at the University of Texas from 2020-21.

Like Skinner, Morrison’s first head collegiate coaching opportunity came in the form of an SEC program with some national success, but nothing like the heights they’ve eclipsed since his hiring.

Morrison was named the head coach at Texas A&M in late 2022.

“When I took this job, whenever I was telling people, they had eyebrows raised a little bit, questioning,” Morrison said.

“And it’s funny because, like, a year in, when all of the changes in college athletics started happening, and they also realized resources were really important, so then it was the first thing that happened. And the other thing that I knew was going to happen was just the conference was going to explode, and I knew it for a few reasons.”

Texas — a perennial power since former head coach Mick Haley broke a barrier (NCAA champs had hailed from California or Hawaii) by defeating Hawaii in the 1988 national championship — joined the SEC in 2024 with fellow newcomer Oklahoma.

But the most monumental shift was Skinner’s breaking through during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 NCAA national championship, during which an SEC team hoisted the trophy for the first time in history.

“I really respect what Craig did out in Kentucky,” Morrison said. “And I said at the time, I had a feeling of, I could do what I believed I could do with this program.”

Belief lies at the heart of the accomplishment of not only reaching the national championship as Texas A&M, or Kentucky, but also of an all-SEC title match. Belief is its root.

“Obviously, I knew that no SEC team had ever won a national championship,” Skinner said. “And in recruiting, it was, ‘Hey, we’re going to be the first team in the SEC to win a national championship. Come join us.’ And sometimes that’s a little … it’s not for everybody. Because to be really good, you’ve got to invest a lot of time.”

In the 20 years between Skinner’s national title as an assistant coach at Nebraska and Kentucky’s national championship, he maintained the commitment to the dream and has not once missed the postseason during his tenure as head boss.

“I’d been a part of a national championship program,” Skinner said. “And just wanted people to feel what that was like. And not just winning it, but the work, and the time and the competitive desire it takes to get to that point. Because that’s the way life is. And so for us to do that, I think, broke down doors that, either Kentucky could do it again, or someone else in the league can do it.”

Like Skinner, Morrison’s team hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since his hiring, with the Aggies earning a berth in 2023 after an eighth-place finish in the SEC, and reaching the Sweet 16 in 2024 after finishing fifth in the league.

Suddenly, each coach has led their respective programs to historic success in 2025, regardless of Sunday’s outcome. And their fan bases couldn’t be happier.

For Skinner and Morrison, there’s a certain power to being somewhere that could fall in love with the “special” moments, despite the fact that there may be other programs on campus that take up significant spotlight.

The Wildcats, whose men’s basketball team stands among the most successful in the history of the sport. The Aggies, whose football team will begin its college football playoff journey Saturday in a first-round playoff matchup with Miami (Fla.).

“Kentucky is a flagship institution of the state,” Skinner said. “And there’s no pro sports, and when you do something special, they will get all in, all the time. And we’re feeling that right now.”

Despite the fact that revenue sharing, NIL and the transfer portal have rocked the traditional essence of college sports, two of the college sports’ biggest brands can — as the conference likes to say — “mean more” than just men’s basketball or football.

Morrison said that he was intentional in taking a job at a school that demonstrated a serious investment in women’s athletics, and believes that there is truly room for everybody to succeed.

“There is a balance,” Morrison said. “And I think they do an amazing job of making sure that everyone can be excellent, and giving us the resources within our sports and doing their due diligence on what that’s going to take within each sport to make sure that we can be competitive.”

Morrison’s Aggies have not yet defeated Skinner’s Wildcats, and fell most recently at home, 3-1, in College Station on Oct. 8. Texas A&M, the two-seed in the league tournament, failed to reach the SEC championship match, where the Aggies would’ve had the opportunity to get its revenge.

The return of the SEC Tournament this season just so happened to coincide with the first-ever All-SEC national championship, but its high-powered talent and competitiveness on display earned viewership that would’ve been unthinkable when Skinner first took the Kentucky job, and is more than anything a testament to the elevated floor of Southeastern Conference volleyball.

“The SEC is known for putting on championships,” Skinner said. “And we’re the only sport in the league that didn’t have a championship. And so, there’s a lot of different minds and thoughts going into it, and culminating in what I thought was a spectacle for volleyball. And the league did a tremendous job of putting a spotlight on our athletes.”

In the 2025 SEC Tournament, the Wildcats drew national attention for pulling off a reverse sweep against the Texas Longhorns, who had defeated the Aggies, 3-1, in the semifinals.

Is there room for comparison in the experiences between the resurrected SEC Tournament, and a deep NCAA Tournament run? Outside of the physical and mental energy and effort, Skinner said, or the long haul of difficult competition in quick succession in hopes of a title, only time will tell.

“They had to play tough matches,” Skinner said. “We had to play tough matches. And the more you experience, the more types of matches and feelings you have, the more things you can pull from. So Sunday’s match is going to be completely different in terms of what we feel, but hopefully, at some point during this season, we have been there before, and we can draw from those situations.”

It’s down to Kentucky and Texas A&M in this year’s women’s college volleyball championship. Here’s where to stream it online

No. 1 seed Kentucky and No. 3 seed Texas A&M will face off in the 2025 D-1 Women’s Volleyball National Championship. These are three important things to look at heading into the match.

The History-

Kentucky went on the road to defeat Texas A&M in four sets on Oct. 8. This was the only Aggies regular season conference loss.

Texas A&M hit .205% against the Wildcats, which was its second lowest mark of the season. The Aggies also totaled five blocks which ties for the second lowest in a match this season.

Kentucky had nine unassisted kills in the match vs Texas A&M, which was the most in a match all season.

The Wildcats have won its last four matchups against Texas A&M and  nine of the last 11. The Cats lead the all-time series 17-10.

This is the first time that two SEC teams have faced off in the national championship.

Kentucky is the only team to win the national championship as a member of the SEC.

The Wildcats are making their second national championship appearance in program history, it’s the first for Texas A&M.

The Stars Are Out in Kansas City-

Texas A&M was the only team with four players named to the All-SEC First Team with Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Logan Lednicky, Kyndal Stowers and Maddie Waak.

Kentucky was the only team with three members of the All-SEC First Team in Brooklyn DeLeye, Eva Hudson and Kassie O’Brien. Kentucky also had Molly Tuozzo on the All-SEC Second Team.

Hudson, DeLeye and Cos-Okpalla were all named as AVCA First-Team All-Americans. O’Brien, Lednecky and Stowers were named to the AVCA All-American Second Team. Tuozzo and Waak made the AVCA All-American Third Team

Kentucky is led by the 2020-21 AVCA National Coach of the Year Craig Skinner. Kentucky’s head coach was named the 2025 SEC Coach of the Year, his seventh time earning that title.

The 2025 AVCA Coach of the Year, Jamie Morrison, is the head coach of the Aggies.

Path to the National Championship-

Kentucky has not lost in three months and 11 days. The Wildcats last loss came against Pitt on Sept. 10. Since then the Cats have won 27 straight matches.

Along the way, Kentucky picked up its ninth consecutive regular season conference title, won the first SEC postseason tournament in 20 years and made the second national championship appearance in program history,

The Cats rolled through the Lexington Regional with sweeps over Cal Poly and No. 3 seeded Creighton. These two teams were held to a combined hitting percentage of just .086%, averaging 9.67 kills per set.

In the Final Four, Kentucky took down No. 3 Wisconsin in five sets. Wisconsin led in many important stats such as kills, assists and digs. Despite this, Kentucky won the match to advance to the national championship.

Since losing to Kentucky, Texas A&M is 16-1 with that loss coming against Texas in the SEC Tournament semi-final. 

The Aggies have taken down three teams ranked top-10 in the AVCA poll, reaching the national championship with wins over No. 9 Louisville, No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 1 Nebraska.

Nebraska and Pitt were both No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, which made Texas A&M just the third No. 3 seed to eliminate two No. 1 seeds.

Texas A&M’s last two wins were over the only two teams to beat Kentucky this season.

The championship match will take place inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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Photos: Wisconsin volleyball 2025 season in photos

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