Category: Lady Vols

Lady Vols claim second victory against Vanderbilt this season

The Lady Vols claim its second victory against Vanderbilt this season.

The Lady Vols completed a season sweep of in-state and Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

No. 13 Tennessee (21-4, 10-2 SEC) overcame 10 first-half turnovers to capture a 66-52 victory over the Commodores (12-14, 3-9 SEC).

Jordan Horston recorded another double-double, her 12th of the season for the Lady Vols, who also defeated the Commodores last month in Nashville.

She had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Tennessee, which led, 15-12, after the first quarter. Horston also had seven assists.

Rae Burrell added 15 points off the bench for the Lady Vols, who opened a 31-26 advantage by halftime before holding Vanderbilt scoreless for over five minutes to open the third quarter.

Alexus Dye, Jordan Walker, Tamari Key and Sara Puckett each scored eight points for Tennessee.

Key also had nine rebounds and five assists, while Puckett fished with seven rebounds.

Vanderbilt’s Brinae Alexander had a game-high 19 points. Iyana Moore finished with 17 points for the Commodores.

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Lady Vols open season with four wins

Tennessee softball opens season with four wins.

No. 16 Tennessee has opened its 2022 softball season, playing in the Felsberg Invitational, hosted by FIU, in Miami, Florida.

The Lady Vols’ opening weekend ended early as the final day was canceled due to inclement weather.

Tennessee won its first four games, winning a double header against FIU Saturday and was victorious versus UNC Greensboro and Maryland Friday.

In Saturday’s first game against the Panthers, UT came from behind to win, 4-3, after surrendering three runs in the first inning.

Kiki Milloy and Kaitlyn Parsons each had two hits for the Lady Vols.

Milloy also scored and recorded a stolen base. Parsons homered and stole a base.

Ivy Davis went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs.

Pitcher Ashley Rogers recorded a win in 4.1 innings of scoreless relief. She gave up three hits and had seven strikeouts.

The Lady Vols defeated FIU, 7-1, as Ashley Morgan, Ivy Davis and McKenna Gibson each had home runs.

Erin Edmoundson started and pitched six innings, surrendering four hits and four walks, while striking out 10.

Bailey McCachren pitched the final inning, allowing one run and two hits.

The Lady Vols opened the campaign with a 4-0 victory over UNC Greensboro Friday.

Davis had a two-run home run. Morgan hit a solo home run in the seventh inning.

UT scored its first run of the season on a sacrifice fly by Lair Beautae that drove in pinch runner Katie Taylor, who replaced Madison Webber, who doubled in the top of the fifth inning.

Rogers had a complete-game victory as she surrendered one hit and three walks while recording nine strikeouts.

The Lady Vols also played the Terrapins Friday and notched a 2-1 comeback victory.

Milloy tied the game with an RBI single in the third and drove in the winning run with a hit in the fifth.

In the circle, Edmoundson picked up the win as she pitched 5.1 innings. She surrendered one run, two hits and one walk. She struck out four.

Rogers earned a save as she had four strikeouts in 1.2 innings.

Rachel Sutliff breaks freshman record in 5,000-meter run

Distance specialist breaks freshman record in 5,000-meter run.

A Lady Vols’ distance specialist set a Tennessee program record Friday at the Music City Challenge in Nashville.

Rachel Sutliff competed in the women’s 5,000-meter run and set the Lady Vols’ freshman record, finishing the race in 16 minutes, 45.44 seconds.

Sutliff’s effort eclipsed the previous program record by nearly 10 seconds.

That mark was set by Morgan Thompson in 1991, who posted a time of 16:55.38.

Sutliff, who also competes in cross country for the Lady Vols, is a native of Grapevine, Texas, where she attended Grapevine High School.

During her high school career, Sutliff competed in the 1,600-meter run, the 3,200-meter run and the 5,000-meter run.

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Lady Vols record win No. 20 against Missouri

Tennessee defeats Missouri in SEC play.

Tennessee found its way back into the win column Thursday, defeating Missouri (16-8, 5-6 SEC), 76-62, at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The No. 13 Lady Vols (20-4, 9-2 SEC) and Missouri were tied 17-17 after the opening quarter.

Tennessee outscored the Tigers, 15-10, in the second quarter and opened a 32-27 halftime lead.

The Lady Vols, however, used a 26-6 run in the third quarter and claimed a 58-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Tennessee’s Jordan Horston had a double-double in the contest, her 11th of the season, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. She also had five assists and was one of four Lady Vols’ players to post double figures in the scoring column.

Tess Darby added 12 points for Tennessee, while Rae Burrell and Alexus Dye finished with 11 points each. Dye had five rebounds.

Missouri’s Lauren Hensen led all scorers with 22 points. Aijha Blackwell had a double-double for the Tigers, totaling 12 points and 10 rebounds.

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Jordan Horston named to Naismith Trophy midseason list

Lady Vols’ guard named to Naismith midseason list.

Tennessee guard Jordan Horston has been named to the midseason list for the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year.

Horston, a junior and native of Columbus, Ohio, is averaging 16.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in 20 contests this season.

She has recorded a team-high 10 double-doubles for the Lady Vols (19-4, 8-2 SEC) this season.

Horston has been Tennessee’s leading scorer 13 times this season. She’s had

In seven contests against ranked opponents this season, Horston has averaged 20.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.0 rebounds per game.

The No. 13 Lady Vols play Thursday, hosting Missouri at 6:30 p.m. EST at Thompson-Boling Arena.

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SEC announces 2022 softball television schedule

The SEC announces 2022 softball television schedule.

The Southeastern Conference has announced its television for the 2022 softball season.

Tennessee will appear on the ESPN family of networks 15 times this spring, the most of any SEC team.

The Lady Vols will first appear on television on Feb. 17 against Notre Dame in Clearwater, Florida. The contest will be aired on ESPNU with first pitch slated for 10 a.m. EST.

The Lady Vols’ television schedule for the upcoming season is listed below from a UT press release:

SEC Network will carry 10 of the Lady Vols’ games in 2022, including the entirety of the Texas A&M series in Knoxville April 16-18 and an early-season non-conference matchup with Washington at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational on Friday, Feb. 18. UT will appear on national television five times, beginning with back-to-back games on ESPNU to open the SPC Invite vs. Notre Dame and Florida State on Thursday, Feb. 17. The Lady Vols’ series finales at Florida (March 27) and Georgia (April 10) will air on ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively, before Tennessee hosts Virginia Tech on Wednesday, April 20, for a midweek non-conference bout on ESPNU.

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Two Lady Vols named to preseason All-SEC team

Two Lady Vols named to the preseason All-SEC team.

Two Lady Vols have been named to the All-SEC preseason team.

Outfielder Kiki Milloy and pitcher Ashley Rogers received preseason All-SEC honors.

Both players have received a plethora of preseason honors as they were named to the D1Softball.com All-America Team and were included on the 50-player watch list for Team USA Player of the Year.

In 2021, both Milloy and Rogers were named second-team All-America by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Milloy led UT in hits (59), runs (50), stolen bases (37) and OPS (1.103). Her 37 steals led the SEC and also ranked third in the nation.

Rogers led the conference in ERA (1.32) and opponents’ batting average (.132).

The Athens, Tennessee native finished 2021 with 26 victories and 296 strikeouts.

The Lady Vols begin its 2022 season Friday in Miami, Florida. Tennessee will play a doubleheader against UNC Greensboro and Maryland in the Felsberg Invitational hosted by FIU.

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UConn victorious against Lady Vols in Hartford, 75-56

UConn is victorious against the Lady Vols in Hartford, 75-56.

No. 7 Tennessee (19-4, 8-2 SEC) lost its third consecutive road game Sunday.

No. 10 UConn defeated Tennessee, 75-56, at XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Huskies (15-4, 9-0 Big East) scored the first 14 points of the third quarter. UConn opened a 46-25 advantage with 6 minutes, 17 seconds left in the third quarter.

Connecticut outscored Tennessee, which has lost three of its last four games, 23-11, in the third quarter.

Jordan Horston led Tennessee with 26 points and was the only Lady Vol to post double figures in the scoring column. She also had eight rebounds and three assists.

Rae Burrell scored nine points for Tennessee.

The Huskies’ Azzi Fudd led all scorers with 25 points. Aaliyah Edwards and Tennessee transfer Evina Westbrook scored 14 points each for Connecticut.

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Lady Vols lose second straight road game at Florida

The Lady Vols lose its second straight road game at Florida.

No. 7 Tennessee (19-3, 8-2 SEC) lost at Florida (16-6, 6-3 SEC), 84-59, Thursday.

The win was Florida’s fifth in the series against Tennessee, which had won 54 of the 58 previous games dating back to 1980.

Florida shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the floor during the contest.

The Gators had a 36-29 lead at halftime before pulling away in the second half. Florida’s Kiara Smith had a game-high 25 points and finished with five rebounds and five assists.

Alexus Dye led the Lady Vols with 10 points. She also had six rebounds.

Rae Burrell and Tess Darby added nine points each. Tamari Key finished with eight points and was Tennessee’s leading rebounder with eight.

Tennessee lost at Auburn in its last road game at Auburn on Jan. 27. The Lady Vols have lost two consecutive contests on the road.

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Ashley Rogers, Kiki Milloy named preseason All-America

Ashley Rogers and Kiki Milloy named preseason All-America.

A pair of Lady Vols’ softball players received preseason All-America honors.

Tennessee senior pitcher Ashley Rogers and junior outfielder Kiki Milloy were recognized with preseason All-America honors from D1 Softball.

Rogers led the Southeastern Conference in ERA (1.32) and opponents’ batting average (.132) last season. Her 296 strikeouts ranked fifth in the nation in 2021. She won 26 games last year and that mark was seventh-best in the country.

Milloy, Tennessee’s starting center fielder in 2021, led the team in OPS (1.103), hits (59) and runs scored (50),

She led the SEC with 37 stolen bases, a mark that was sixth in the nation.

Both Tennessee players were named All-America last year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. They were also named to USA Softball’s Top 50 Player of the Year Watch List.

Rogers and Milloy both received preseason recognition from Softball America and and Extra Inning Softball for top-100 rankings.