Tag: Lady Vols

Offensive woes spell defeat for Lady Vols at Georgia

A recap of UT women’s basketball team’s loss at Georgia Sunday.

Cold shooting spelled defeat for the Tennessee women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon.

The No. 21 Lady Vols fought an uphill battle throughout the contest against No. 22 Georgia. The result was a narrow 57-55 Southeastern Conference loss at Stegeman Coliseum.

Tennessee (13-6, 7-4 SEC) shot 28.8 percent from the floor and that would ultimately be what doomed the Lady Vols against Georgia (17-4, 9-4), who earned a season sweep of the Big Orange with a victory.

The Lady Vols started slow, scoring 19 points over the first 20 minutes. UT was behind, 27-19, at halftime and never really recovered. The two teams slugged through an even third quarter before Georgia claimed victory.

Rennia Davis scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Tennessee, while Rae Burrell finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

Kasi Kushkituah tied a career-high with 13 rebounds.

Georgia’s Gabby Connally led all scorers with 24 points.

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Jaida Thomas leads Lady Vols past Appalachian State

Recapping Lady Vols’ 7-0 soccer win over Appalachian State.

Redshirt freshman forward Jaida Thomas continues to score goals in bunches for the University of Tennessee women’s soccer team this spring.

Thomas, who scored three goals during the fall portion of the campaign, opened UT’s spring season with a hat trick in the Lady Vols’ victory over Gardner-Webb last week.

She added two more markers and an assist, leading Tennessee to a 7-0 victory over Appalachian State Saturday night at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone, North Carolina.

Thomas opened UT’s scoring in the 14th minute and extended an advantage to 2-0 during the 20th minute.

Mackenzie George added a third tally for the Lady Vols, who outshot Appalachian State 22-4 in the match.

An own goal my the Mountaineers (5-10-1) gave Tennessee the 4-0 advantage it enjoyed at halftime.

The Lady Vols (6-4-1) added three more markers after the break as Louisa Essuman, Lawson Renie and Abbey Burdette all scored.

Lindsey Romig made three saves en route to posting a clean sheet.

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Lady Vols defeat No. 2 South Carolina

Lady Vols upset Gamecocks Thursday.

Streaks are made to be broken and on Thursday night, the University of Tennessee used a big second half to snap No. 2 South Carolina’s 31-game winning streak against Southeastern Conference opponents.

The No. 21 Lady Vols overcame a double-digit deficit to rally past the Gamecocks, 75-67, at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The victory was a signature win for Tennessee second-year head coach Kellie Harper. It was the Lady Vols first win over a top-5 opponent since 2017.

UT had battled adversity over the last several days as they were stranded in Texas due to inclement weather. The Lady Vols (13-5, 7-3 SEC) had suffered consecutive losses to Kentucky and Texas A&M.

Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper hugs her son Jackson after a basketball game between the Lady Vols and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thursday, February 18, 2021. The Lady Vols defeated the Gamecocks 75-67. Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Early on, it seemed Tennessee’s woes would continue against South Carolina (17-3, 10-1) as the Lady Vols fell behind 37-25 by halftime after the two teams slugged through an even first quarter. After the opening frame, the contest was deadlocked 16-16.

UT would fall behind by as many as 16 points in the game, but the Lady Vols would outscore South Carolina 50-25 over the final 20 minutes.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Tennessee’s Rennia Davis scored 24 points after the break.

Rae Burrell had 19 points and Jordan Horston had 12.

The Lady Vols also stepped up its defense after halftime, holding South Carolina to 30 points after in the second half and outscored the Gamecocks 22-13 in the final frame.

Natalie Hayward earns SEC volleyball honors

UT junior setter Natalie Hayward named SEC Setter and Player of the Week.

Tennessee volleyball player Natalie Hayward has picked up a pair of Southeastern Conference awards.

Hayward, a 5-foot-11 junior, played a key role in the Lady Vols’ weekend sweep against No. 16 Missouri at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Her effort earned Southeastern Conference Setter and Player of the Week.

Hayward, a native of Bothell, Washington and graduate of Archbishop Murphy High School, had 86 assists in two matches against the Tigers (8-4, 8-4 SEC).

KNOXVILLE, TN – February 12, 2021 – The Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Missouri Tigers and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

She averaged 10.75 assists per set over the weekend for the Lady Vols.

Hayward dished out a career-high 54 assists in Friday night’s thrilling comeback 5-set victory. She also finished the lid lifter for the spring season with 14 digs and three kills.

In Saturday’s sweep of the Tigers, Hayward had 32 assists, 12 digs and two kills for the Lady Vols (5-4, 5-4).

Hayward has 339 digs.

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Lady Vols’ Jaida Thomas receives honor

Jaida Thomas honored by soccer publication after hat trick against Gardner-Webb.

University of Tennessee soccer player Jaida Thomas has been honored by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Thomas, a redshirt freshman and forward for the Lady Vols, earned a spot on the Southern California publication’s Women’s Team of the Week.

Thomas, a native of Irving, Texas, recorded a hat trick in the Big Orange’s 6-0 victory over Gardner-Webb on Sunday at Regal Soccer Stadium.

The match opened Tennessee’s spring portion of the soccer schedule and was the first-ever meeting on the pitch between UT and the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

Thomas scored her three goals in a 15-minute span for the Lady Vols.

She is now second among Southeastern Conference goal scorers with six markers during the 2020-21 campaign. UT is 5-4-1 this season.

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COVID-19, inclement weather forces SEC basketball postponements

UT men’s and women’s basketball games for Tuesday postponed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Tennessee’s men’s basketball team to alter its schedule.

The Volunteers, who were scheduled to host a Southeastern Conference contest against South Carolina Tuesday, had their game at Thompson-Boling Arena postponed.

The game, which was postponed due to a positive test in the Tennessee program, will now be played Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST in Knoxville. It will be televised on SEC Network.

The No. 19 Vols are coming off a 78-65 loss to LSU Saturday in Baton Rouge.

The No. 21 Lady Vols also had its game against Mississippi State in Starkville postponed due to inclement weather.

The game against the Bulldogs was also scheduled for Tuesday. No make-up date has been announced.

Tennessee is coming off back-to-back road losses to No. 17 Kentucky and No. 5 Texas A&M.

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Jaida Thomas leads Lady Vols past Gardner-Webb

Lady Vols defeat Runnin’ Bulldogs on soccer pitch, 6-0.

A hat trick from redshirt freshman forward Jada Thomas helped the Lady Vols open the spring portion of its soccer season on a winning note Sunday.

Thomas tallied in the 11th, 12th and 26th minute to help the Lady Vols (5-4-1) post a 6-0 victory over Gardner-Webb at Regal Soccer Stadium.

Thomas, who scored three goals during the fall, doubled her offensive production with her performance on Valentine’s Day against the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the first-ever meeting on the pitch between the two sides.

UT also received goals from Abbey Burdette, which gave the Big Orange a 1-0 lead in the second minute on a marker assisted by Isabella Cook and Hannah Tillett.

Tillett also picked up a helper on the Lady Vols’ fifth tally, which was scored by Giselle Washington in less than two minutes after Thomas completed her hat trick.

Mackenzie George had one goal and an assist during the match. Tara Katz also recorded one assist for the Lady Vols.

UT goalkeeper Lindsey Pomig made two saves en route to posting a shutout.

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Lady Vols fall to Aggies

Recapping Lady Vols’ loss to Texas A&M Sunday.

Rennia Davis returned to the Lady Vols lineup Sunday afternoon.

She scored 25 points, however that was not enough to push No. 16 Tennessee past No. 6 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon.

The Lady Vols led 44-40 in the third quarter, but the Aggies stormed back to capture an 80-70 victory in a Southeastern Conference tilt at Reed Arena in College Station.

Davis, a highly decorated senior player for Tennessee (12-5, 6-3 SEC), missed the Lady Vols’ 71-56 loss to Kentucky Thursday night in Lexington due to COVID-19 protocol.

The game was in a 32-32 deadlock at halftime and the Lady Vols trailed 51-49 after the third frame.

The Aggies (19-1, 10-1) outscored UT, 29-21, over the final 10 minutes of the contest to pull away and seal their victory.

Rae Burrell added 18 points for the Lady Vols and Tamari Key added 10 for Tennessee, which dropped its second consecutive game.

Guard Jordan Nixon led Texas A&M with 15 points, while Kayla Wells and Aaliyah Wilson added 13 apiece.

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Straight-set win nets series sweep for Lady Vols volleyball

Recapping Tennessee volleyball’s win over Missouri Saturday.

The University of Tennessee volleyball team clinched a sweep in its first Southeastern Conference matches of the spring season Saturday night.

The Lady Vols took down No. 16 Missouri in straight sets, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

In contrast, the spring lid lifter and series opener in Knoxville Friday night went five sets with the Lady Vols (6-4, 6-4 SEC) prevailing over the Tigers (8-5, 8-5) in comeback fashion.

The victory was Tennessee’s fourth consecutive win dating back to the fall season. It was also the third time this season that the Lady Vols have knocked off a ranked opponent.

The Lady Vols overcame a 16-11 deficit in the opening set before closing the first game with a 14-6 run. UT won eight of the final 10 points of the set.

Morgahn Fingall was a factor for Tennessee against Missouri. She had 13 kills Friday night and recorded a career-high 16 kills on Saturday.

Junior and Berean Christian School graduate Lily Felts had nine kills, nine digs and served up one ace Saturday, while hitting a team-high .450.

Danielle Mahaffey finished the match with five kills, five blocks and one ace.

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After being rained out Friday, Lady Vols to host Eastern Kentucky Sunday

Lady Vols rained out at Coastal Carolina, host Eastern Kentucky Sunday.

The University of Tennessee softball team was set to open the 2021 season Friday morning at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic in Conway, South Carolina.

It was supposed to be the Lady Vols’ first competition in 337 days after the 2020 campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UT was slated to play both Connecticut and tournament host Coastal Carolina on Friday, but inclement weather would make it so the Lady Vols would never make it to the diamond.

The tournament would subsequently be canceled. The Lady Vols were also slated to play Ohio and the Huskies on Saturday.

The weekend, however, will not be a total loss for No. 23 Tennessee as the Lady Vols will host Eastern Kentucky Sunday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

First pitch is slated for noon EST.

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