KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amid the deluge of volleyball activity in the transfer portal late last year, two transfers ended up standing out: Eva Hudson transferred from Purdue to Kentucky and Kyndal Stowers transferred from Baylor to Texas A&M.
This is effectively a transfer of power from the Big Ten and Big 12 to the SEC.
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As Texas A&M coach Jamie Morrison remembers, Hudson and Stowers fouled each other within 30 minutes. They were stars at their former schools — the two conferences have won a combined 16 national championships in the sport over the past 26 seasons.
What was Morrison’s first thought? Fun times are coming in the SEC.
Their impact resonates more widely. Kentucky (30-2) and Texas A&M (28-4) will play for the national title on Sunday in front of a T-Mobile Center and ABC audience. Hudson and Stowers were All-Americans. They are just part of the firepower that provides the Wildcats and Aggies’ lineups.
The SEC has become a force in women’s volleyball, capable of challenging the Big Ten as the best conference in the country. Kentucky defeated Wisconsin and Texas A&M defeated Pitt in the semifinals on Thursday as the conference clinched its second national title and first of the traditional fall season.
The Wildcats won it all during the pandemic-adjusted 2020 season, which took place in the spring of 2021.
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That championship remains Greg Sankey’s most cherished among the football- and baseball-focused collections he assembled during his decade as SEC commissioner, he said.
“That opens the door,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said, “either Kentucky can do it again or someone else in the league can do it.”
When Sankey visited Lexington over Labor Day weekend in 2021, Kentucky and Skinner presented him with a national championship ring.
“I don’t have a lot of emotion,” Sankey said Thursday after watching the Aggies and Wildcats win. “But knowing everything that’s happened to get to this point, it’s something we’ve never done as a league.”
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Shortly after Sankey came to power in 2015, he saw the potential for growth in volleyball and wanted a piece of the pie. Florida State, led by head coach Mary Wise, who retired after last season, has long held the SEC flag high. But the Gators never made it to the top, losing to USC in the 2003 national championship game and Nebraska in 2017.
Then Kentucky broke through.
The sport of volleyball has exploded in popularity. Ratings and engagement are rising nationwide. The professional game took off in the United States, with two major women’s leagues (Major League and Volleyball League One). In the SEC, Vanderbilt is reviving its program after 45 years. Schools are breaking attendance records and committing name, image and likeness resources to the campaign.
Seeking an advantage, Sankey pushed for the SEC to restart a playoff game that hadn’t been held since 2005.
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The Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC do not compete for playoff titles. logic? Top programs’ resumes are strong enough to earn high seeds in the NCAA tournament without having to do the heavy lifting before November.
Morrison said the commissioner “begged and begged” because he knew the tournament would create opportunities for exposure and growth.
The time was right for four-time national champion Texas to join the team after the Longhorns won back-to-back championships in their final seasons in the Big 12.
The competition was held again this year in Savannah, Georgia, and featured 16 events over five days. Kentucky and Texas played three games in three days. The Wildcats defeated the Longhorns in five sets in the finals.
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“When I look around the country, I know about volleyball,” Morrison said. “Looking at what we, Kentucky and Texas are doing, I think they’re three of the best teams in the country — if not the three best teams — throughout our season.”
The Aggies prevailed in the regional semifinals in five sets over Louisville, the national runner-up a year ago. A&M upset No. 1 Nebraska in five sets and then earned the Aggies their first ticket to the national semifinals.
“We’re one of the best-prepared teams in the country,” Morrison said. “The same goes for Kentucky because they have the same path.”
Kentucky lost to Pitt and Nebraska this year. A&M beat them this past week.
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The Wildcats defeated Texas twice. Aggies split with Longhorns.
The rest can only be settled in court. Kentucky won in four sets on Oct. 8 in its only match of the year in College Station, Texas.
“That feels like a long time ago,” said A&M senior engineer Emily Hellmuth. “Honestly, it’s hard to remember, a lot has happened since then.
“I think we left feeling like there was a lot of unfinished business.”
The Aggies lost the final set of Game 1 27-25. Two high-impact transfers, Hudson and Stowers, traded the final five kills.
The transfer of power is now complete and they’re ready to show off the power of the SEC on Sunday.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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