{"id":14251,"date":"2023-08-21T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=14251"},"modified":"2023-08-21T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T06:00:00","slug":"craig-skinner-challenges-kentucky-fans-to-set-indoor-volleyball-attendance-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/craig-skinner-challenges-kentucky-fans-to-set-indoor-volleyball-attendance-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Craig Skinner challenges Kentucky fans to set indoor volleyball attendance record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin set the regular-season NCAA volleyball attendance record with 16,833 fans in a match vs. Florida in 2022. Craig Skinner<\/a> and the Kentucky<\/a> women\u2019s volleyball program are challenging Big Blue Nation to break that record when the Wildcats open the season inside Rupp Arena vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 1. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe attendance around the country \u2014 Wisconsin set the indoor mark last year at 17,000 people. I\u2019d certainly love to hit that mark inside Rupp Arena,\u201d Skinner said on 630 WLAP\u2019s Sunday Morning Sports Talk.<\/a> \u201cFor our fans to do something like that, it\u2019d be one of the most rewarding things we could do as a program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lofty expectations, but deserving for a program that has made 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments under Skinner, highlighted by a 2020 national championship and six straight SEC championships.<\/p>\n

Kentucky has set Sept. 1 as the attendance challenge date when the Wildcats take on Pittsburgh, who is coming off back-to-back National Semifinal appearances and a 31-4 season a year ago. The current attendance record for Kentucky volleyball is 9,475 fans, set in October 1993 in a match against LSU. Skinner\u2019s top priority is breaking that record, at minimum. If the Wildcats are able to top the nationwide record? Well, that\u2019d be welcomed, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur current record is 9,500 people for our program, so getting over 10,000 would be a big deal,\u201d Skinner added. \u201cPittsburgh and us, two aspiring and rising programs, to get our attendance up with programs like Nebraska and Minnesota and Wisconsin, that\u2019d be huge. This is a great opportunity for us to set that tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kentucky comes in at No. 10 overall in the preseason AVCA Rankings, good for No. 1 in the SEC. Pittsburgh is right ahead of the Wildcats, tied for No. 5 overall. How does Skinner feel about his group in the days leading up to the regular season, set to begin Friday, Aug. 25 at Colorado State? <\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, so good. A really good, accomplished preseason,\u201d Skinner told KSR. \u201cEnergy is really good. Stayed healthy for the most part. We were able to implement a lot of things that we wanted to the last few weeks, saw some really good things in our exhibition. But also \u2014 as all coaches would say \u2014 a lot of things to improve on and work on. I can\u2019t wait, it\u2019s really a fun group to coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wildcats will take on Colorado State on Friday, followed by a matchup at Northern Colorado on Saturday, Aug. 26. From there, the home-opener vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 1 inside Rupp Arena. <\/p>\n

Kentucky got the lay of the land at Rupp in a 3-1 exhibition victory over No. 24 Western Kentucky last Thursday. What did Skinner think of the setup ahead of the real thing next Friday?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome. The venue is fantastic \u2014 the sound system, the sight lines, the lighting, the court layout, distance from the court,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re actually closer to the court than Memorial Coliseum, so I feel like fans get a new appreciation for the speed of the game and the power. To get 1,500-2,000 people there for an exhibition on a random Thursday night, it was fantastic our first go-round. It\u2019s a great tune-up for Pittsburgh as we attempt to break the attendance record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Memorial Coliseum is currently undergoing an $82 million renovation that won\u2019t be completed until the fall of 2024. There are benefits of a move to Rupp, but that doesn\u2019t mean the Wildcats are immune to an adjustment period. That\u2019s inevitable.<\/p>\n

Skinner is just grateful Kentucky got a tune-up match before the Panthers head to town next week. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly an adjustment, I\u2019m glad we got the chance to practice one day before the Western Kentucky match instead of rolling in there cold turkey against Pittsburgh,\u201d he said. \u201cThe depth perception and sight lines, it\u2019s all very good and quality. It\u2019s a little bit different airflow with the air conditioning \u2014 there\u2019s a difference in how the ball travels, especially when serving. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be an adjustment, but it\u2019s not going to be a problem. I\u2019m excited, it\u2019s going to be a great place to watch volleyball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kentucky vs. Pittsburgh. Rupp Arena. September 1, 7 p.m. ET. <\/p>\n

Buy tickets here.<\/a> <\/strong>Time to shatter the record. <\/p>\n

The post Craig Skinner challenges Kentucky fans to set indoor volleyball attendance record<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin set the regular-season NCAA volleyball attendance record with 16,833 fans in a match vs….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}