Category: Lady Vols

Lady Vols defeat Florida in SEC Tournament

Lady Vols soccer defeats Florida in SEC Tournament.

Tennessee opened Southeastern Conference soccer tournament play on a victorious note Tuesday.

The SEC East division champion Lady Vols, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, notched a 5-2 victory over No. 10 Florida at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Jaida Thomas scored a pair of unassisted goals to lead the Lady Vols (16-2-0) to victory over Florida (4-12-4).

Thomas scored in the 18th minute.

Abbey Burdette extended Tennessee’s lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute with another unassisted marker.

Florida trimmed UT’s lead in half when Georgia Eaton-Collins tallied in the 24th minute.

With the win, the Lady Vols advance to Thursday night’s semifinals, facing Ole Miss. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT.

Tennessee continued to dominate Tuesday’s match against the Gators, who upset No. 7 Vanderbilt in the tournament’s opening round Sunday.

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Lady Vols win SEC East

Tennessee claims division title with victory over Kentucky.

Tennessee ended its regular season on a winning note Thursday night.

No. 12 Tennessee defeated Kentucky, 2-0, before an announced crowd of 620 at Regal Soccer Stadium.

The victory clinched a second consecutive SEC East division championship for Tennessee (15-2-0, 8-2-0 SEC) and marked back-to-back titles for the first time since claiming four straight between 2002-05.

UT will also be the second seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament, which opens Oct. 31 in Orange Beach, Alabama.

As the No. 2 seed, Tennessee will have a first-round bye.

Tennessee will play the winner between Florida-Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals. The Commodores, a No. 7 seed, eliminated Tennessee in last year’s tournament.

The Lady Vols also lost to Vanderbilt in 2021. UT’s other loss this season came against top-seeded and West division champion Arkansas in the SEC opener for both schools.

In Thursday night’s match against the Wildcats (7-10-2, 1-9-0 SEC) Tennessee took an early lead as Mackenzie George scored an unassisted goal in the eighth minute.

Jaida Thomas extended Tennessee’s advantage to 2-0 in the 31st minute with her eighth marker of the season. Taylor Huff was credited with an assist on Thomas’ goal.

The Lady Vols outshot Kentucky, 13-11, with eight landing on goal. Kentucky totaled seven shots on frame.

UT goalkeeper Ashley Gabor made her first start and recorded a clean sheet.

The Lady Vols’ 15 wins are the most ever in a regular season.

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Kentucky sweeps Lady Vols in volleyball

Lady Vols fall in straight sets to Kentucky.

Tennessee saw its chances of winning a Southeastern Conference volleyball championship take a big hit Wednesday night.

The No. 21 Lady Vols were swept by defending national champion and No. 5 Kentucky, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19, before an announced crowd of 3,376 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The match was Tennessee’s return home after five consecutive road contests. It was also the Lady Vols’ second straight loss. UT was swept Sunday by LSU in Baton Rouge.

Breana Runnels recorded 12 kills, six digs and two blocks for the Lady Vols (16-5, 8-3 SEC).

Morgahn Fingall added 11 kills, six digs and two blocks against the Wildcats (16-3, 9-0). Lily Felts, a senior and local product who graduated from Berean Christian School in Knoxville, finished with 13 digs, five kills, two blocks and one assist for Tennessee, which returns to action Nov. 4 when it faces Florida in Gainesville.

The match is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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LSU defeats Lady Vols to earn series split

LSU defeats Lady Vols to earn series split in volleyball.

After winning a five-set thriller against LSU Saturday night, the Tennessee volleyball team was swept by the Tigers Sunday afternoon.

LSU defeated the No. 20 Lady Vols in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, salvaging a Southeastern Conference split at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

Lily Felts and Morgahn Fingall each recorded nine kills for Tennessee (16-4, 8-2 SEC). Fingall also tallied two blocks, while Felts, a Knoxville native and Berean Christian School graduate, posted 11 digs.

Breana Runnels finished with eight kills and one block.

Natalie Hayward was the Lady Vols leading passer against the Tigers (9-12, 5-7) as she totaled 27 assists. Madison Bryant finished the match with 11 digs and five assists.

Tennessee returns to action Wednesday when it hosts defending national champion Kentucky Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT and the match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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Lady Vols outlast Georgia, 3-1

Lady Vols soccer outlasts Georgia, 3-1.

After suffering an overtime loss to in-state rival Vanderbilt in Nashville Thursday night, the Tennessee soccer team returned to the pitch Sunday afternoon and posted a convincing Southeastern Conference victory.

No. 10 Tennessee bounced back and downed Georgia, 3-1, before a crowd of 1,100 at Regal Soccer Stadium.

It was the Bulldogs’ first loss to an SEC East foe in 2021, and the victory will give UT (14-2-0, 7-2-0 SEC) a chance in clinching its second consecutive division title with a victory over Kentucky Thursday night in Knoxville. Thursday’s contest will be the regular-season finale for Tennessee.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. EDT.

Against Georgia (11-4-2. 4-3-2 SEC), Tennessee scored the first goal of the match late in the opening half as Cariel Ellis tallied her first marker in the 45th minute. Hannah Zaluski was credited with the assist.

Tennessee extended its advantage to 2-0 when Mackenzie George scored off an assist from Jaida Thomas.

Georgia pulled to within 2-1 on an unassisted goal by Tori Penn.

Thomas closed out the scoring in the 89th minute. George was credited with an assist on the final goal of the match.

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Lady Vols outlast LSU in five sets

Lady Vols outlast LSU in five sets in volleyball.

The Tennessee volleyball team won its fourth consecutive match Saturday night.

UT’s victory, however, did not come easily for the No. 20 Lady Vols as they outlasted LSU in a five-set thriller, 25-14, 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-13, at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

Breana Runnels posted a double-double for UT (16-3, 8-1 SEC) with 21 kills and 14 digs. She also recorded two aces and one assist against the Tigers (8-12, 4-7).

Runnels also picked up help from her supporting cast.

Danielle Mahaffey came up with 13 kills and seven blocks, while Morgahn Fingall finished with 11 kills and five blocks.

From the back row, Madison Bryant finished the marathon match with 14 digs. She also recorded two aces and seven assists.

Natalie Hayward totaled 13 digs, five blocks and four aces.

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Lady Vols fall to Vanderbilt in overtime

Lady Vols soccer falls to Vanderbilt in overtime.

Tennessee had its six-match Southeastern Conference winning streak snapped Thursday night as it suffered a road loss.

Despite outshooting Vanderbilt by a 21-7 margin, the No. 10 Lady Vols fell to 2-1 before an announced crowd of 812 in Nashville.

Tennessee (13-2-0, 6-2-0 SEC) never led in the match as the Commodores (7-7-2, 4-3-1 SEC) opened the scoring on a goal by Abi Brighton in the 13th minute. Her marker was assisted by Amber Nguyen.

Vanderbilt, which eliminated the Lady Vols from the 2020 SEC Tournament, held a 1-0 advantage at halftime.

The Lady Vols pulled even when Mackenzie George tallied an equalizer in the 49th minute. It was George’s third maker of the 2021 season and assisted by by Abbey Burdette.

The Commodores’ Peyton Cutshall scored the eventual game-winner early in extra time as she tallied in the 95th minute. Raegan Kelley was credited with an assist on the final marker of the match.

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Lady Vols outlast Mississippi State, 2-1

Lady Vols defeat Mississippi State to move into first place.

The Lady Vols are perched atop the Southeastern Conference Eastern division soccer standings.

No. 10 Tennessee notched its second consecutive victory Friday night.

The Lady Vols outlasted Mississippi State, 2-1, at Regal Soccer Stadium before a crowd of 2,379 fans.

UT (13-1-0, 6-1-0 SEC) scored early as Claire Rain tallied in the sixth minute to give the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead. The goal was Rain’s second of the season and it was unassisted.

The Lady Vols also scored early in the second half as Claudia Dipasupil tallied in the 47th minute. The goal, which was assisted by Jordan Fusco, was Dipasupil’s seventh of the 2021 campaign.

The Bulldogs (3-7-3, 1-5-1) pulled to within 2-1 in the 57th minute when Madison Cotta scored.

Mississippi State outshot Tennessee, 14-9, in the match. Six of the Bulldogs’ shots landed on goal. The Lady Vols had four scoring chances land on frame.

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Lady Vols down Georgia in four sets

Tennessee volleyball downs Georgia in four sets.

Tennessee volleyball won its third consecutive match Friday night.

After dropping the first set to Georgia, the No. 21 Lady Vols bounced back to claim a 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-18 victory over the Bulldogs at Stegman Coliseum in Athens.

Morgahn Fingall had 15 kills and five blocks for Tennessee (15-3, 7-1 SEC), which is in the midst of a five-match road trip.

Lily Felts added 12 kills and two assists against Georgia (5-12, 1-5) and Breana Runnels finished with 11 kills.

Natalie Hayward had another solid match for the Lady Vols as she came up with 40 assists and 13 digs.

Madison Bryant finished with 11 digs and six assists for Tennessee, which returns to action Oct. 23 at LSU for the first of a two-match series in Baton Rouge.

The series opener is slated for 6 p.m. EDT.

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Vols, Lady Vols to hold open basketball workouts

Vols and Lady Vols to hold open basketball workouts Saturday.

Basketball fans can get their first look at both the Volunteers and Lady Vols Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee men’s head coach Rick Barnes and Lady Vols’ third-year head coach Kellie Harper are opening their teams’ respective workouts before Saturday’s Southeastern Conference football showdown against Ole Miss and former UT head coach Lane Kiffin.

Barnes and the Volunteers will hit the hardwood for an open scrimmage at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

Harper and the Lady Vols are scheduled to take the floor at 2 p.m. EDT.

Fans can enter Thompson-Boling Arena through Gate C and are asked to sit between sections 100-109 in the lower bowl. No fans will be allowed on the floor level.

Fans are asked to exit the arena by 5 p.m. EDT.

The Vols and Rebels will kick off at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Neyland Stadium.

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