VOLLEYBALL CENTRAL: vs. Lipscomb (Exhibition)

Saturday, August 18

Knoxville

3 pm

University of Tennessee

Lipscomb (Exhibition)

August 17, 2018 | Volleyball

Live Stats

By: Andy Kovar

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee volleyball team kicks off the season with an exhibition match against Lipscomb Saturday. The Lady Vols will host the Bisons at 3:00 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena with free admission to the match.

This will be the first time the team will play under first-year head coach Eve Rackham. Rackham was hired as Tennessee's 12th head coach in program history in January.

FRESH FACES
Tennessee have a roster of 17 players for the 2018 season. Five players are new to the squad: freshmen OH Raquel Perinar, OH Lily Felts, DS/L Giana Pellizzon, OH Danielle Mahaffey and sophomore transfers MB Addisyn Rowe and DS/OH Brooklynne Villano.

Rowe, recorded 136 kills, 96 blocks and 94 sets played last season at Marshall while Villano posted 10 kills and 21 digs in 11 matches at Jacksonville State. Villano's older sister, Bridgette, played volleyball for Tennessee from 2013 to 2016.

STANDOUT STAT
The Lady Vols return 98.74 percent of assists from the 2017 team. This includes Sedona Hansen (522 ast) and Callie Williams (541 ast). Hansen is 10th in program history in assists with 1,652 in her first two seasons.

FROM COACH EVE RACKHAM
On the exhibition
"The big thing is that we are going to be able to compete against someone that is not ourselves. We get to answer some questions that we are trying to answer about players and personnel. It's another opportunity to have our teams in jerseys and play in a game-like environment. There's no place better to learn about yourself then when you play someone else," – Coach Rackham

On the identity of Tennessee volleyball
"I think number one is that we are disciplined and that we play really hard. We're trying to hammer that home this preseason. We need to be a team that has a plan, we stick to the plan and we make good decisions. Hopefully, we are fun to watch because of how hard our girls play," – Coach Rackham

NEXT UP
The Lady Vols open up the regular season with the annual Tennessee Classic on Aug. 24-25 in Thompson-Boling Arena. The first match of the tournament has Tennessee squaring off against No. 22 Michigan State at 8:00 p.m. on SEC Network.