Kentucky volleyball is back in the Sweet 16. Its star sophomore setter is a big reason why.

For the last two seasons, the direction — literally — of the Kentucky volleyball offense has been decided by Emma Grome.

There’s no other way the Cats would want it.

The standout sophomore setter was recently named the SEC Player of the Year after helping lead Kentucky to at least a share of the league championship for a sixth straight season, and Grome’s all-around proficiency has been on display as UK recorded commanding victories last week in its first two NCAA Tournament matches.

“She is a baller, and that kid can do anything on the court. She can pass. She can hit. She can dig. She can block. She can serve,” UK head coach Craig Skinner said Monday when previewing his team’s Sweet 16 appearance during a media session at Kroger Field. “The fact that she’s even gotten better this year is another level of testament to her passion and desire to be a great player.”

Now back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since winning the national championship in April 2021 (the last season Grome wasn’t on the UK roster), much of UK’s success this season can be tied to Grome, and her consistent, yet unpredictable, style of play.

As the setter, Grome is almost always the penultimate person to touch the ball on offense before UK attempts a kill to score a point.

But where the ball is going — and who Grome is setting up for a potential termination — is often a surprise.

“There’s times that I have no idea where Emma is going to set the ball,” Skinner said last Friday after UK’s second-round NCAA Tournament win over Western Kentucky. “If I don’t have an idea (after) watching her play for the last two years, then I’m pretty sure the middle blockers on the other side of the net don’t, either.”

The numbers back this up.

While Grome has racked up the assists this season (an average of 12.15 per set, the top mark nationally), she’s done so while operating a balanced Kentucky offense that has had frequent lineup changes due to injury.

Five different UK players average more than two kills per set. While no individual Wildcat ranks in the top 50 nationally in kills per set, Kentucky as a team ranks 11th in the country in hitting percentage (.290).

“I think it shows a lot about our team. We have so many good hitters on this team, and as I was able to do today, we keep it really balanced,” Grome said after UK began the NCAA Tournament last Thursday with a win over Loyola Chicago.

Grome had 44 assists in that match, with five different Wildcats totaling eight kills or more in the win.

“I think just having so many different options makes it really fun for me because I have a little bit more freedom to be deceptive and I have a lot of confidence in my hitters.”

Grome continues success as a sophomore

Grome’s success in her first two seasons in Lexington is remarkable on its own, and even more so in the context of who she took over from in the setter role.

Madison Lilley was a star at Kentucky, and one of the most well-known members of UK’s national championship team.

Lilley was the AVCA Player of the Year as a senior when she piloted UK to its first, and only, national title in volleyball. She had 53 assists in the championship match and also recorded a career-high 19 digs in that win against Texas.

For good measure, Lilley was also named the Most Outstanding Player of that NCAA Tournament.

This is to say Grome had big shoes to fill as a freshman in 2021, and she was ready for the task: Grome was the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year and had the best assists per set rate (11.45) of any freshman setter in the country.

If you take the averages of Grome’s assists from her first two college seasons (with Thursday night’s Sweet 16 match still to come), and project it out over a four-season career at Kentucky, Grome would rank fifth all-time in assists at UK.

“Emma was a player that I always caught myself at tournaments wanting to go back and watch her play. I’d go watch her, then I’d go watch someone else and then I would be like, ‘I gotta go see this Grome kid again,’” Skinner said Monday, when recalling his initial identification of Grome’s talent.

“Emma I think has grown a lot as a setter and understanding when and why to get the right person the ball at the right time.”

This has been reflected in UK’s overall offensive success this season with lineups that have often been in flux. It also figures to serve Kentucky well in a condensed setting like the NCAA Tournament, where there’s precious little time to prepare for opponents.

“We give (players) guides to follow, but they’re out there in the middle of the heat and if they don’t feel something, I don’t want them thinking about me telling them to set someone at the right time,” Skinner said after UK’s NCAA Tournament opener last Thursday. “They need to feel what’s the appropriate set. Emma’s as good as anybody at that. She does a really nice job.”

Kentucky volleyball Sweet 16 preview

Next up for the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament will be a Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday night against San Diego, the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Toreros have lost only once this season (Sept. 2 at Louisville) and enter Thursday night’s Sweet 16 match having won 26 in a row.

As the runaway winner of the West Coast Conference, San Diego flexed its dominance against league opponents this season: From Sept. 24 until Nov. 17, San Diego won 40 consecutive sets.

When previewing the San Diego match on Monday, Skinner said there are several similarities between the Toreros and Wildcats: Both teams boast transfer players with experience, and some of the calling cards for both teams are good ball control and setting, as well as the limiting of mistakes.

There’s also more crossover between the two programs than you might think.

San Diego redshirt senior middle blocker Gabby Goddard spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Kentucky in 2018 and 2019.

Graduate student outside hitter Breana Edwards transferred to San Diego from Indiana and was part of IU’s 2019 team that won a five-set match at Kentucky.

San Diego also boasts a player with local ties to Lexington: Freshman libero and defensive specialist Olivia Bennett was born in Lexington and was a six-year varsity volleyball player at Bryan Station High School.

Bennett has appeared in all 30 of San Diego’s matches this season, and she ranks fifth on the San Diego team in total digs.

The winner of the Sweet 16 match between Kentucky and San Diego will face the winner of a match between Houston and host school Stanford in the Elite Eight on Saturday night.

Thursday

Kentucky vs. San Diego

What: NCAA Sweet 16

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif.

TV: ESPNU

Records: UK 22-7, San Diego 29-1

Kentucky volleyball benefited from a brutal September schedule, but it wasn’t easy