The University of Kentucky first fielded a women's volleyball team in the fall of 1977. Since then the Wildcats have been to the NCAA Tournament 26 times, and won the won the SEC regular season 14 times.
Delphine Nemeth era (1977–1981) The program was started in 1977 under coach Delphine Nemeth who was also a
nurse anesthesiologist at the
University of Kentucky hospital. The team competed in the Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conference (KWIC) as part of the
AIWA and the
Southeastern Conference (SEC) during this time. During this time, the SEC had the first women's volleyball conference championship, which was won by Kentucky over
Tennessee in 1979. She was named KWIC Coach of the Year in 1979. Her record as coach was 126–74–1.
Mary Jo Peppler era (1982–1983) Mary Jo Peppler took over the program along with
Marilyn McReavy in 1982 and they were named the SEC coaches of the year in 1983.
Fran Flory era (1992–1997) Fran Flory took over the program in 1992. She had a record of 78–80.
Jona Braden era (1998–2004) Jona Braden took over the program in 1998. She had a record of 90–119. The team had consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1992–93.
Craig Skinner era (2005–present) Craig Skinner took over the program in 2005. He is the winningest coach in Kentucky volleyball history and led Kentucky to their first-ever NCAA volleyball national championship in 2020. Skinner has led the team to 20 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He has also led the Wildcats to SEC championships every year from 2017 to 2025. The Cats won the SEC postseason volleyball tournament in 2025, which had not been played since 2005. As of the end of the 2025 season, he has a record of 498–157. } {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead| ==See also==