A Brief History

The club were founded in 1973 after an invitation to take part in the Motherwell Trophy.  After winning this trophy the club were invited to enter the National League division 2 in season 1974/75.

Their stay in division 2 was only short lived though as the club were promoted into division one during their first season.

In the following years the club continued to expand adding a women’s team and becoming the first club in Scotland to have to have teams in both the first and second divisions of the men’s National League.
The 1983/84 season saw Kilmarnock win the Scottish Cup for the first time and this was followed up in the 1985/86 season with the club being crowned Scottish Champions for the first time in their history, also completing their first league and cup double in this season.

During the 1995/96 season Kilmarnock entered Europe through the C.E.V Cup and became the first Scottish team to win a European fixture, beating VC Petange over the two legs. (See Below)

Since the 1998/99 season Kilmarnock VC has dominated Scottish volleyball winning both the national championship and Scottish Cup eight times.

Throughout the clubs history many of our members have received international honours (see below) and since the inception of the Player of the Year Award it has been awarded to Kilmarnock players on three occasions. Stuart Edgar twice and Gary McGuire once.

CEV CUP 1995

In the 1st round of the CEV Cup in November 1995, Kilmarnock were drawn to play against VC Petange of Luxembourg with the winners advancing to play in a Group Stage in Portugal in December. A packed Galleon Centre welcomed Petange to Scotland and their hosts were in no mood to be welcoming. Killie played well and won the match 3-1. Coach Jim McKenna gambled by starting youngster Jamie Nelson and this paid off handsomely, as the youngster played well throughout the match. The home win, sent Kilmarnock to Luxembourg in confident mood.

Kilmarnock also won in Luxembourg 3-1, to confirm their place in the next round, where they would face Castelo de Maia (Portugal), Hapoel Kfar Saba(Israel) and Studentti Tirana (Albania). It was a big ask for the Ayrshire side and they faced hosts Castelo de Maia in their first group match Early in the first set they lost captain Michael Rhodes with an ankle injury. Killie lost their first match 3-0.

In the second group game, Killie went down 3-0 again to Hapoel Kfar Saba. This left the Ayrshire side with one game to try and save face. In the final group game, Killie lost a tight five setter to Studentti Tirana.

Back Row: (L to R) Donnie Macpherson, Paul Carruthers, Steve Johnson, Gordon Welsh, Steven Jackson, Jamie Nelson, Angus Mitchell, Allan Thomas. Front Row: (L to R) Physio, Florent Berger, Jim McKenna (Coach), Brian Green, Scott Russell, Michael Rhodes (Captain).