“We’re 8-4 (in the SEC) which is the best since 1996. One of the better parts of that is that we’ve won six of our last eight matches and we’re playing very well during that streak. We’re one win away from clinching an SEC Tournament bid and that was one of our major goals at the beginning of the season. They were 3-13 last year and that is the first hurdle we wanted to cross. South Carolina is a huge match for us. Our kids are very excited. They’ve done a great job of taking it one match at a time and we expect nothing less this weekend.

“Probably one of the best things we can say about our program are the seniors. Our seniors had a combined nine wins in the SEC the two previous years. At the beginning of last January, they weren’t sure they liked volleyball and how happy they were at UK. But it has been an unbelievable turnaround these guys have shown. One of them is leading the conference in attack percentage. One of them came to us this summer and felt like maybe she didn’t want to play volleyball again and she’s third in the conference in assists per game. The other, Danielle Wallace, is in the top five in kills per game. Those guys have made a incredible turnaround. The leadership they have shown has made us very proud and our team, their bond, is very strong right now. Without a strong bond, we wouldn’t have some of the wins we’ve had so far.”

“Some of the stats we have right now, we’re in the top four in every statistical category in the conference except one. Amy Kaplan leads the conference in attack percentage, Jenni Casper leads the conference in digs per game and our team leads the SEC in digs per game. That shows a combined effort to be successful by our team.

“This weekend is huge for our program. If we win Friday night against South Carolina, we clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament. If we do well this weekend and next weekend, it gives us a great opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament and that’s the ultimate goal for a program where we are. For us to do that, we need the Big Blue Nation to come out and support us. It’s a great sport that displays women’s athletic and we’d love to see you on Friday and Sunday.”

On the biggest success this year …
“To be successful in a conference like the SEC, you have to be great defensively and I think we’ve shown that in a lot of our matches. We’re number three in opponent attack percentage and that’s similar to, in football, scoring defense. Jenni Casper has led that. We also have great players in Julie Gagnon and Alisa Pierce, who are from right here in the state of Kentucky. The next thing is how hard these players are working for each other. You had a group that was going in 12 different directions in January and now they are all feeding off each other and working together.”

On how many SEC teams will make the NCAA Tournament …
"Last year, the SEC had a record four teams make the NCAA Tournament. We feel the SEC strong again this year and their computer rankings are continuing to rise and at least that can make it this year.”

On high school volleyball in Kentucky …
“This past week, Tates Creek went to the state championship and won the first two rounds. Most importantly, Assumption just won the national championship. They clinched the state championship, went 43-0 and prepvolleyball.com had them ranked number one. So, it’s very, very good. Some areas are better than others, but we start our recruiting right here.”

On this weekend’s games …
“South Carolina is critical for us, one for the SEC Tournament, but also because we’re at home. It’s big for us to do well and give us a great shot to make the NCAA Tournament. Our players are very focused on that. We go down to Arkansas and LSU to finish the SEC regular season. We have a shot to do some special things and our kids are excited about it.”

On if he thought the program would be at this stage so soon …
“As a coaching staff, we expect to win. We expect to do well. We train in a way that gives us a great chance to be successful, but you can’t really predict how your season is going to go. We are very proud to be 8-4 (in the SEC), especially from where some of our players have been past three years. We feel very good about it.”

On if the players have surprised themselves with success …
“I don’t think so, we have very competitive people. I think they always knew they could be good, but they didn’t believe it (would happen). Now they believe in themselves and they believe in each other and that’s very important. Confidence is a major factor in success over the long haul.”