In a heart stopping five-set thriller, the top-seeded Kentucky volleyball team shook off their early jitters to topple Wisconsin 3-2 (12-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13) to advance to Sunday afternoon’s national championship match versus Texas A&M.

It looked bleak early for the Wildcats, who improved to 30-2 with the victory. The Badgers (28-5) stormed out of the gate to take a 15-6 lead and cruised to the 25-12 opening set win. It marked Kentucky’s largest margin of defeat in a single set since a 25-10 loss to Nebraska in 2018 in the Midwest Regional semifinal.

Wisconsin appeared on their way to a 2-0 advantage in the second set, but the Cats rallied to take a 25-22 victory to even the match at 1-1. The Badgers answered with a 25-21 win in the third set after opening with a 12-7 run.

That’s when things got really exciting for the team in blue and white. Kentucky was able to extend the match by coming from behind to hold on for a 26-24 win. Wisconsin appeared on their way to a match victory after opening a 13-10 lead, but the rallying Cats scored six consecutive points and sent the semifinal match to a decisive fifth set.

Kentucky jumped out to a 6-1 lead before the Badgers answered to within a single point (14-13) late in the set. That’s when UK head coach Craig Skinner called a timeout. The Cats responded and advanced to the championship match when Eva Hudson buried her 29th kill of the match to give Kentucky the two-point win and the celebration was on.

The Aggies earned their first-ever trip to the final with a 3-0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-20) upset sweep of Pittsburgh in the first semifinal, making the championship match the first-ever all-SEC title tilt. Kentucky topped Texas A&M on Oct. 8 in College Station 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 27-25) in a hard-fought match in the lone meeting between the two. The Aggies have become known as the “giant killers” after wins over Nebraska and Pittsburgh, the only two teams to defeat Kentucky this season.

The championship match will be televised on ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sunday from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Kentucky is looking to bring home its second national title after winning it in 2020.

Again, I’m not trying to belabor the point, but if you haven’t gotten the volleyball “bug” yet, you’re simply missing out a tremendous sport. The young ladies are unbelievably athletic, the competitive nature of the sport is amazing, and the enthusiasm is off the charts.

Pair of hungry foes tangle in Atlanta

Most of the chatter concerning Saturday afternoon’s Kentucky-St. John’s matchup in Atlanta has been centering around the respective head coaches. It’s quite understandable; second-year UK coach Mark Pope played for St. John’s current bench boss, Rick Pitino, and was a member of the 1996 national champion Wildcats. After Pope was announced as the new Kentucky coach, Pitino showed up at the celebratory pep rally at Rupp Arena and gave his blessing. The admiration the two have for each other is well documented, but you can bet both want this game in the worst way.

The two teams have seen tough times in the early going, with Pope being slammed by a multitude of Kentucky fans after the Cats’ losses to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. The loss to the Zags was particularly troubling, due to the way the Cats underperformed and were subsequently blown out.

The Red Storm have had their own issues beating the top teams in their early schedule as well, with losses to Alabama, Iowa State, and Auburn. That makes this game even more important than the close relationship the two coaches have enjoyed for three decades.

This is a game that appears hard to figure out on paper, but it has the look of a rock fight. Thus far, neither team has shown it has the ability to shred the nets, so it could very well come down to which team is more successful at defensive intensity and rebounding.

My guess, and it really is a shot in the dark with this one: Kentucky 64, St. John’s 63.

College Football Playoff gets underway

The 12-team College Football Playoff has an extraordinary number of detractors, with the primary objection being the inclusion of the 11 and 12 seeds in the mix. The point is well taken; after all, when you look at it objectively, these are not the 12 best teams in the country.

Changes will be forthcoming next year, but what we have this season is rather interesting.

What if No. 11 seed Tulane does the highly improbable, and knocks off No. 5 Ole Miss? On a much grander scale, what if the upset of the year occurs in Eugene on Saturday night, and No. 12 James Madison shocks Oregon? Either of those occurring would be akin to a 15 or 16-seed winning in March Madness, so it isn’t impossible.

The opening playoff matchup is an intriguing one, with SEC foes Alabama and Oklahoma squaring off on Friday night (after this was written) in Soonerville. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Crimson Tide pull off the mild upset, setting up a showdown with top-ranked Indiana in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The other Saturday game features the Miami Hurricanes, who will visit Texas A&M at noon. The Aggies are expected to advance to play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve, and that promises to be a dandy. The other expected “quarterfinal” matchups on Jan. 1 will have Texas Tech against Oregon in the Orange Bowl, and SEC combatants Georgia facing Ole Miss.

Whatever happens, the CFP will have more than its share of storylines and an upset or two along the way.

Reds Hall of Fame names 2026 class

Three former players and a manager make up the newest class announced by the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. The modern player ballot that fans, media members and Reds alumni participated in selected second baseman

Brandon Phillips and pitcher Aaron Harang, and the veterans committee picked outfielder Reggie Sanders and skipper Lou Piniella.

Hard to argue with any of the inductees; they’re all deserving. Phillips was a no-brainer, Harang was a workhorse who had the unfortunate luck of pitching on several less than stellar Reds teams, Sanders has been overlooked for years, and Piniella led the Reds to their last world championship in 1990.

The four will be honored at the Reds Hall of Fame Induction Celebration April 24-26, when the Reds host the Detroit Tigers for three games at Great American Ball Park.

Happy Birthday, young lady!

Last – but certainly, not least – special birthday greetings go out to the one and only Angie Brant. As many of you already know, Angie is the love of my life, as well as a truly wonderful, hard-working and giving person.

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“The approach of Christmas brings harassment and dread to many excellent people. They have to buy a boatload of presents, and they never know what to buy to fit the various tastes; they put in three weeks of hard and anxious work, and when Christmas morning comes they are so dissatisfied with the result, and so disappointed that they want to sit down and cry. Then they give thanks that Christmas comes but once a year.” – Mark Twain