Kentucky volleyball celebrations key in NCAA Tournament Final Four run

Whenever a Kentucky volleyball player deflects the opposing team’s attack, Historic Memorial Coliseum erupts.

“Monster block! Monster block! Monster, monster, monster block!” booms from the PA system as fans and UK’s bench chant the same and pump their arms to the music.

This tradition along with dancing during challenges and player-personalized cheers are just a few of the sideline antics Kentucky is known for around the sport.

“A big part of volleyball is the momentum,” redshirt sophomore Ava Sarafa told The Courier Journal. “We have 14 people on the roster, and it takes every single person on the roster to give in to the full effort of winning in our season.”

These Wildcats possess a fire, a closeness and a joy most say is unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. They call it “flow state.” Full immersion in the game plan, the baseline high jinks and the ultimate goal: to bring a second national championship back to Lexington. Top-seeded UK will try to take another step toward that goal when it faces third-seeded Wisconsin in the second national semifinal of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

When Eva Hudson records a kill, which she does often as the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, she lets out a passionate scream. “Come on!” “Let’s go!” “Get f****ed!”

“We have played Eva Hudson the last two years at a former school so we are very familiar with how fiery she can get,” Creighton coach Brian Rosen said ahead of the Elite Eight. “She will stare you down through the net, and she will turn and bring so much energy to her team. If she gets going, they get going.”

The force with which she plays is contagious. UK’s bench stokes the flames. A Hudson kill prompts a basketball-themed celebration. “We’re all, like, dunking,” Sarafa said. “Basically saying she’s dunking on the other team.”

Since arriving on campus together in January, the Wildcats have put in a lot of time on the court but also off it to enhance their overall chemistry. And their cheer game, of course.

“It’s mostly like inside jokes,” Sarafa said. Like Asia Thigpen’s signature celebration.

During her freshman season, the 5-foot-11 outside hitter would throw her fists in the air after every kill or point she scored. The team called it “happy fists” and naturally co-opted the move as her cheer.

Other items are passed from class to class and squad to squad. Like the “A-train” cheer for aces. “We all just go ‘choo choo!’” Sarafa said. “It’s a silly moment for us, and I think that it brings so much energy to the bench and the team. It’s a cool thing to be a part of.”

Same with UK’s dances during challenges, like the one caught on ESPN+ during the first-round match versus Wofford as the “Cotton Eye Joe” line dance remix. 

Dancing in December (literally) 💃#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ESPN+ / @KentuckyVB@WoffordVBpic.twitter.com/EpIYPt7IQU

— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 5, 2025

“The Wildcats on the bench, known for their choreography. You were part of that,” Dick Gabriel said on the broadcast to former UK setter and color commentator Cam Scheitzach.

“Yes,” Scheitzach said. “It was the best part. Creating dances, almost having dance-offs with the other team.”

It’s all about playing with joy. Staying composed when the pressure is on. And celebrating each other for overcoming.

“Even in film sessions, sometimes there will be a crazy play, and we’ll just zoom in on the bench, and everyone’s going crazy,” Sarafa said. “Like, there’s people on the ground, there’s people running in circles, people jumping up and down, and I think it’s just a big part of our team’s culture.”

UK head coach Craig Skinner has been privy to a lot of elite volleyball. Between 21 seasons in Lexington (one in which the program won its first national championship) and his coaching roots in Nebraska and Wisconsin, he knows what special looks like. And this Wildcats team certainly has it.

With two matches — at most — remaining, they’re embracing every moment.

“You do not get this chance very often in life. So we’re not going to go in and (go) ‘Ah, we gotta play great on Thursday’ from here until then,” Skinner said after UK’s Elite Eight win. “We’re going to enjoy the experience, enjoy this victory, and enjoy the time we have together.

“I told the team in the locker room, ‘It’s very rare you get to experience a group of people like this that is so bought into each other and the program, so we have to enjoy that for as long as we can and as long as this season will take us.'”

Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at [email protected] and follow her on X @petitus25. Subscribe to her “Full-court Press” newsletter here for a behind-the-scenes look at how college sports’ biggest stories are impacting Louisville and Kentucky athletics.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky volleyball NCAA Tournament Final 4 run fueled by celebrations

Source: Sports Yahoo