No. 20 Lady Vols defeat Alabama to open SEC play

Tennessee volleyball defeats Alabama to open SEC play.

No. 20 Tennessee (8-3, 1-0 SEC) opened Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday. The Lady Vols defeated Alabama (8-4, 0-1 SEC), 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11, at Food City Center.

Graduate student outside hitter Nina Cajic recorded 31 kills for Tennessee. She earned SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.

Cajic also recorded a .338 hitting percentage, 11 digs, four aces and one block against the Crimson Tide for her fourth double-double of the season.

Redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr also recorded a double-double for the Lady Vols, totaling 48 assists, 16 digs, five kills, three blocks, one ace and a .556 hitting percentage.

Tennessee will next play Oklahoma on Sunday in Norman, Oklahoma. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. EDT and can be watched on SEC Network+.

Lady Vols end nonconference play with win over Western Michigan

Lady Vols defeat Western Michigan volleyball in four sets.

No. 15 Tennessee( 7-3) defeated Western Michigan (4-7), 25-20, 25-11, 22-25, 25-19, Friday at Food City Center in its final nonconference game of the season.

Graduate student Nina Cajic totaled 16 kills, eight digs and two blocks for the Lady Vols, who posted a .370 hitting percentage in the match against the Broncos. She also totaled eight digs and two blocks.

Freshman Paityn Chapman recorded 12 kills, three blocks, three aces, two digs and one assist, while recording a .429 hitting percentage. Eryn Jones totaled 11 kills, 11 digs and four blocks.

Redshirt sophomore Caroline Kerr was the Lady Vols’ leading passer as she finished with 44 assists. She also totaled three blocks, three digs and two kills for Tennessee, which held Western Michigan to a .143 hitting percentage.

Wofford ends Tennessee’s win streak

Wofford defeats Lady Vols in five sets.

Wofford (6-4) defeated No. 16 Tennessee (5-3), 25-18, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19, 15-12, Monday at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The loss ended the Lady Vols’ five-match win steak. Tennessee also played its third match in three days.

Nina Cajic totaled 17 kills, 19 digs and four aces for the Lady Vols, while Keondreya Granberry recorded 13 kills and two blocks.

Paityn Chapman, the two-time reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, finished the five-set match with 11 kills.

From the back row, libero Ashllyn King had 16 digs, five assists and two aces, while redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr was the Lady Vols’ leading passer. She recorded 48 assists, nine digs and one block.

No. 16 Lady Vols sweep Coastal Carolina

Tennessee defeats Coastal Carolina in straight sets to earn weekend sweep.

No. 16 Tennessee (5-2) defeated Coastal Carolina (3-6), 25-16, 25-18, 25-17,  Sunday at HTC Center in Conway South Carolina.

The Lady Vols completed a two-match weekend sweep of the Chanticleers. Tennessee defeated Coastal Carolina in four sets on Saturday. Tennessee has won five consecutive games.

In Sunday’s match, Tennessee recorded a .344 hitting percentage.

Nina Cajic led Tennessee with 17 kills, while hitting .377. She also totaled four digs, two blocks and one assist.

Keondreya Granberry recorded nine kills, one block and one dig for the Lady Vols.

Caroline Kerr was the Lady Vols’ leading passer with 33 assists. She also recorded six kills, six digs and one block. Emily Beeker posted six kills, four blocks, two blocks and one dig.

Hayden Kubik totaled 10 digs, three kills and three aces.

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Tennessee volleyball sets school record for aces in win at Coastal Carolina

Lady Vols set school record for aces in win at Coastal Carolina.

No. 16 Tennessee (4-2) defeated Coastal Carolina (3-5), 24-26, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18, Saturday at HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina.

Saturday’s contest marked the fourth consecutive win for the Lady Vols after opening the season with two straight losses.

Tennessee recorded a school record 15 aces in the match.

Paityn Chapman led Tennessee with 12 kills and totaled a .357 hitting percentage. Defensively, she recorded two blocks and one dig. Nina Cajic finished the match with seven kills, six digs, three aces and one assist.

Redshirt junior Emily Beeker hit .385, totaled seven kills and three blocks for the Lady Vols. Caroline Kerr, the reigning SEC Player of the Week and the league’s setter of the week, recorded 33 of Tennessee’s 43 assists. She also totaled eight digs, five kills, four aces and two blocks.

No. 16 Lady Vols defeat Western Kentucky in five sets

Tennessee volleyball defeats Western Kentucky in five sets.

No. 16 Tennessee (4-2) defeated Western Kentucky (4-3), 25-22, 15-25, 25-12, 23-25, 15-11, Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Nina Cajic was the Lady Vols’ leading hitter as she totaled 17 kills. She also finished with 13 digs and five blocks.

Paityn Chapman recorded 15 kills, eight digs, five blocks and a .364 hitting percentage. Keondreya Granberry totaled 11 kills, 11 blocks, one dig and a .558 hitting percentage.

Redshirt sophomore Caroline Kerr was Tennessee’s leading passer with 50 assists. Defensively, she recorded 12 digs. Kerr also totaled six kills, two blocks and one ace.

Emily Beeker and Hayden Kubik finished with nine kills each. Kubick recorded 12 digs, while Beeker totaled three blocks for the Lady Vols.

Two Lady Vols earn SEC weekly honors

Caroline Kerr and Paityn Chapman earn weekly volleyball awards from the SEC.

Two Tennessee volleyball players received SEC weekly honors when the league announced its awards on Monday.

Caroline Kerr earned two awards as she was named SEC Player of the Week and SEC Setter of the Week.

Paityn Chapman was maned Freshman of the Week after the Lady Vols defeated UCLA and Long Island.

Kerr, a redshirt sophomore, has won 13 weekly conference awards, including two this season. This marks the third time she has won both player of the week and setter of the week honors.

Chapman earned her first SEC weekly honor.

Kerr totaled 73 assists, 14 digs, four aces, three kills and three blocks in Tennessee’s victories over the Sharks and Bruins.

Chapman, an outside hitter for the Lady Vols, recorded 16 kills, five digs, one ace and one solo block in Tennessee’s two wins last week. She posted a .314 hitting percentage.

Lady Vols sweep UCLA in top 25 volleyball match

Lady Vols sweep UCLA to earn eighth top 25 victory under head coach Eve Rackham Watt.

No. 17 Tennessee (1-2) defeated No. 25 UCLA (2-1), 25-15, 26-24, 27-25, Thursday at Food City Center.

The match was witnessed by 3,702 fans, the second largest crowd in program history. Tennessee also recorded its eighth victory over a top 25 opponent under head coach Eve Rackham Watt.

Junior outside hitter Hayden Kubik recorded a career-high 12 kills and 13 digs, her first career double-double for the Lady Vols. Nina Cajic, a graduate student and outside hitter, totaled 14 kills and eight digs. The transfer from Townson also hit .324 against the Bruins.

Paityn Chapman totaled 11 kills and five digs, while redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr was the leading passer for the Lady Vols with 38 assists. She also finished with eight digs, three blocks, two kills and one ace to help Tennessee earn its first win of the 2024 season.

Angelina Alcantar/USA TODAY Network

Tennessee sets attendance record versus Penn State

Tennessee sets Food City attendance record versus Penn State.

No. 7 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 15 Tennessee (0-1, 0-0 SEC), 22-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-20, Friday at Food City Center in the season opener for both schools.

The match was played before a record crowd of 6,193 fans, breaking a previous record of 3,376 that witnessed the Lady Vols’ match against Kentucky on Oct. 27, 2021.

Tennessee committed 23 attacking errors against Penn State.

Freshman outside hitter Paityn Chapman led the Lady Vols with 12 kills and also recorded two blocks.

Junior outside hitter Hayden Kubik totaled 11 kills and nine digs, while graduate transfer Nina Cajic, who previously played for Townson, recorded 10 kills, six digs and two assists.

Setter and redshirt sophomore Caroline Kerr recorded a sixth double-double of her collegiate career, totaling 38 assists and 11 digs.

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Morgahn Fingall named AVCA Southeast Region Player of the Year

Tennessee right side player named AVCA Southeast Region Player of the Year.

Tennessee graduate student and right side player Morgahn Fingall was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Southeast Region Player of the Year.

Fingall is the first Lady Vols’ player to earn regional player of the year honors. She was one of four Tennessee players named to the AVCA Southeast Region Team, joined by redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr, graduate student and outside hitter Jenaisya Moore.

Graduate student and libero Yelianiz Torres earned All-Region honorable mention.

Fingall is averaging 4.98 points, 4.29 kills, 1.85 digs, 0.77 blocks and 0.30 aces per set this season. She also has a .326 hitting percentage.

Kerr is averaging 11.77 assists, 1.98 digs, 0.65 kills, 0.38 blocks and 0.31 aces per set this season.

Moore recorded double-digit kills in 22 matches this season. She had a career-high 23 kills and 16 digs against Florida.

Torres was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week thee times in 2023. She is averaging a team-high 3.96 digs per set. Torres is also averaging 1.01 assists and 0.30 aces per set this season.