Kentucky Volleyball head coach Craig Skinner has had a rather remarkable career thus far at the University of Kentucky. On Aug. 29, Skinner achieved his 500th win in his career with the Wildcats after a sweeping victory against South Florida.

Skinner’s 500th win came after his fourth match of his 22nd season as head coach. In his career, he has tallied a National Championship, SEC Tournament Championship and nine consecutive SEC regular season championships. Just recently, Skinner appeared in the National Championship in 2025, where the Wildcats fell to Texas A&M.

After falling short last year, the next accomplishment for Skinner is to win his second golden trophy. With many of last year’s key players returning, Skinner certainly has the skillset to win big. The Wildcats’ main returnee is Brooklyn DeLeye, a senior outside hitter and a 2025 All-American. Without last year’s star, Eva Hudson, this year’s offensive will rely of DeLeye’s powerful attacks.

She is not the only big name on this year’s roster, though. This roster includes 2025 Freshman of the Year Kassie O’Brien and returning role players Molly Tuozzo and Lizzie Carr, sister of former Kentucky Basketball player Andrew Carr.

As a whole, the 2026 Wildcats and Coach Skinner have the depth, experience, and drive to have another historical season, with a tough stretch approaching.

Over the next week, they will travel over 1,500 miles, going from Chicago, Illinois to back to Lexington, Kentucky, just to up and leave for the Bahamas a few days later.

Playing three ranked teams in this span, the results will be a key indicator for fans curious if Skinner can once again take his team to the promised land.

On Wednesday, Sept. 2 the No. 3 ranked Kentucky Volleyball team swept UCLA at Historic Memorial Coliseum, adding another win to their record and now sitting at 4-1.

Prior to the match, though, Craig Skinner was recognized for 500 career wins, which he accomplished on Saturday against South Florida. He was awarded a ceremonial ball for his pivotal role in guiding Kentucky to prominence.

Kentucky set a fast pace to open the match, winning the first set 25-13 and securing the first point of the game with an ace by sophomore Cassie O’Brien. Setting the tone, the Wildcats also won a 20-second, dig-heavy rally, creating a lead UCLA could not match.

During the second set, Kentucky faced a much faster UCLA team; however, it pushed a 5-1 scoring run to take the set. Dynamite 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter Morgan Gaerte had 16 kills throughout the match, eventually scoring the game-winning kill to secure the sweep.

Throughout the match, Gaerte’s fiery offense helped create several leads for the Wildcats

Kentucky’s service pressure was impressive, as sophomore defensive specialist Trinity Ward acquired the first set win for her team with a no-touch ace. Additionally, Gaerte recorded three consecutive aces.

However, Skinner’s team was forced to bring more heat after UCLA took the lead in the third set, making the score 14-13. The Wildcats’ errors created wonder; what’s the team’s game plan?

The Wildcats created a lead through three kills from junior outside hitter Asia Thigpen, igniting the offense to keep a one-point lead throughout the third set. The speedy defense and scrappy back-row digs helped maintain their lead.

Throughout a nailbiter of a third set, senior outside hitter Brooklyn Deleye buried the ball through two textbook back-row attacks, keeping UK in the game.

After this win, Kentucky is now 4-1, setting up for success as conference season approaches. Being thrown into a fast-paced offense in the third set will help feed the fire for their next matchups, facing three ranked opponents in a row.

Up next will be No. 13 Penn State on Sunday, Sept. 6, taking place on the historic Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Pato O’Ward is no stranger to heartbreak on ovals. After numerous top-five finishes on ovals this year, O’Ward gets two straight on the same day at the Milwaukee Mile.

“I want to turn my ovals around” O’Ward said in his post-race interview after winning his second race of the day. Safe to say he and his McLaren crew turned their oval performance around this weekend. The No. 5 team had struggled all year with getting his car to where O’Ward could fight for wins. Coming into the weekend, O’Ward was winless on ovals in 2026.

“I want my car to be on edge; much like my 2024 car.” said O’Ward. The McLaren driver explained that the car was not where it needed to be after his first two pit stops of the day, and that the car felt “Stuck” when in dirty air.

The No. 5 crew then made the right adjustment after the third stop of the day, allowing the Mexican driver to surge his way up the field…”I took advantage of the restarts, track position is critical here.”

Changed setup and fresh tires allowed O’Ward to carve his way through the field, eventually passing David Malukas with 19 laps to go. O’Ward never looked back, cruising his way to victory.

A great weekend for the McLaren No. 5 team, who only had one win prior to the sweep in Milwaukee. The victory gives O’Ward momentum heading into the last race of the season at Laguna Seca, in hopes of ending the 2026 season on a high note and carrying that positive momentum into 2027.

Back-to-back-to-back-to-back for Palou!

The Spaniards’ dominance in IndyCar over the past six years continues to grow. With just one race remaining in the season: The Mission Grand Prix of Monterey; Palou has clinched his fifth series championship over the past six years, including winning the past four.

When asked how it feels to win his fifth championship, Palou said, “Incredible. Feels like, I don’t know what to say man. I owe everything to this team and everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda, DHL, all our partners, but especially Chip and everybody that is behind us. Just so proud of this team.” A humbling and Emotional response from one of the most dominant figures in motorsports over the past decade.

Palou has six wins on the year, 14 wins over the past two years, including an Indianapolis 500 victory in 2025, and starting on pole for the 110th Indy 500 this past May.

Time and time again, Palou and his Chip Ganassi crew have shown that they are quicker than the rest and that it is impossible to beat Palou on weekends when he is clicking on all cylinders.