Things you should know about every player on Kentucky’s Final Four volleyball team
You know that the University of Kentucky is in the NCAA Division I volleyball championship semifinals for the first time in school history. You might not know much about the women who put the Wildcats into the Final Four, though.
Let’s fix that: Below you’ll find basic biographical information — school year and city of origin — for all 15 players on UK’s roster this season, as well as additional facts about each player.
Bella Bell
Class: Redshirt freshman
Hometown: Blythewood, S.C.
What you should know: Auburn and West Virginia were the other major suitors with whom Kentucky had to contend for Bell’s commitment out of high school.
Maddie Berezowitz
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Burlington, Wis.
What you should know: Berezowitz was recruited to UK as a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship ahead of the 2021 spring semester; she was an outside hitter for her high school, which she led to back-to-back state titles during her junior and senior seasons.
Gabby Curry
Class: Senior
Hometown: Buford, Ga.
What you should know: The Southeastern Conference’s three-time defending Libero of the Year helped lead Team USA to a gold-medal finish at the 2019 Pan American Cup in Lima, Peru; she and fellow Wildcat Madison Lilley were the only college teammates on that squad.
Sophie Fischer
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Fort Mill, S.C.
What you should know: Fischer was a late signee to what head coach Craig Skinner described as “arguably the best class in Kentucky volleyball history” in 2020; she enrolled in January of last year and has played in 19 sets as a true freshman.
Elise Goetzinger
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Blue Mounds, Wis.
What you should know: Goetzinger in three high school seasons recorded 1,453 kills and was named a Second Team AVCA/Under Armour All-American. Goetzinger and Berezowitz will play against their home state if Kentucky and Wisconsin advance to the finals.
Madison Lilley
Class: Senior
Hometown: Overland Park, Kan.
What you should know: PrepVolleyball.com in 2016 described Lilley as “a perfect setter in every way” when she was presented with the Andi Collins Award, given annually to the top high school player at the position, that year, and has been an AVCA Second Team All-America selection at the position in her first three collegiate seasons (this season’s selections have not yet been made).
Kendyl Paris
Class: Senior
Hometown: Hilliard, Ohio
What you should know: Paris has been a strong representative away from the gym at Kentucky — she’s a member of the SEC’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee and UK’s Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice, and has plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy when her playing days are finished.
Reagan Rutherford
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Missouri City, Texas
What you should know: While she’s played hitter for UK this season, the long-term goal is for Rutherford to be the Wildcats’ setter. “I have learned a lot from her, she’s been my idol for a while now,” Rutherford has said of current setter Madison Lilley. “ ... One of the things I’ve learned from her is that you have to be aggressive and all out for every ball.”
Cameron Scheitzach
Class: Junior
Hometown: Orlando, Fla.
What you should know: Kentucky presented something of a homecoming opportunity for Scheitzach when it started recruiting her in high school; her mother graduated from UK and her dad from Louisville. “I feel like I have been a Wildcat all my life,” she said in 2016.
Avery Skinner
Class: Senior
Hometown: Katy, Texas
What you should know: She and sister Madi Skinner are the daughters of former NBA player Brian Skinner, a former first-round pick out of Baylor who spent 13 years in the league with eight different franchises. “Just being able to watch his drive and what he did, working every day to play at the highest level of basketball, was just an amazing role model for me,” Avery told VolleyballMag.com in November. “And he pushed me all the time, giving me extra workouts and things like that. I tried to use that to my benefit.”
Madi Skinner
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Katy, Texas
What you should know: She was considered the No. 2 player in the country in the 2020 recruiting class, and leads all UK freshmen with 53 sets played and 11 matches started. Madi and Avery both played for Houston Skyline Juniors Volleyball Club, which also produced Ashley Dusek, one of the most-decorated players in UK’s history.
Alli Stumler
Class: Junior
Hometown: Floyds Knobs, Ind.
What you should know: Kentucky’s leader in kills (325) and points (359) isn’t technically a Kentuckian, but Floyds Knobs is considered a suburb of Louisville. Her father was a lifelong Indiana fan and until recently would only wear Kentucky gear specifically tailored for the UK volleyball program. “It took a while,” Stumler told VolleybagMag.com in September. “ ... Half of (my family) was Louisville fans ‘cause we lived 20 minutes from Louisville.”
Azhani Tealer
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Grand Prairie, Texas
What you should know: Tealer was a track and field standout before transitioning to volleyball, starring in the 400 meters, the long jump and several relays. She thought if she ever became a college athlete that track and field would be her sport. Tealer, Rutherford and the Skinner sisters will play against their home state if Kentucky and Texas advance to the finals.
Lauren Tharp
Class: Junior
Hometown: Louisville
What you should know: The lone Kentuckian on UK’s roster played high school volleyball at Mercy Academy, one of only six high schools in KHSAA history that’s won a state title. Its last of seven came in 2014, when Tharp was a freshman for the Jaguars.
Riah Walker
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Sarasota, Fla.
What you should know: Walker in high school twice set single-match school records for digs, first 50 and then 67. For perspective, Kentucky as a team has averaged 13.3 digs per set during the 2020-21 campaign.
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