VB Weekend Preview: #11 Lady Vols Open NCAA Tournament Play, Host First & Second Rounds

Friday, December 1

Knoxville

6:30 pm

University of Tennessee

High Point

VB Weekend Preview: #11 Lady Vols Open NCAA Tournament Play, Host First & Second Rounds

November 30, 2023 | Volleyball

Buy Tickets Tennessee Notes High Point Notes Coastal Carolina Notes Western Kentucky Notes Watch Live - UT vs. HPU Watch Live - CC vs. WKU Live Stats - UT vs. HPU Live Stats - CC vs. WKU Live Stats - 2nd Round

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The road to Tampa begins in Knoxville this weekend, as the No. 3 seed Tennessee Lady Vols host Coastal Carolina, High Point and Western Kentucky at Food City Center for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Competing as the No. 3 seed in the Stanford quarter of the bracket, Tennessee opens with the 23-7 High Point, the champions of the Big South, for a 6:30 p.m. ET first serve on Friday at Food City Center. The Lady Vols will also play host to No. 6 seed Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina, who also face off Friday at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. The winners of each match compete for a spot in the regional rounds on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Fans can purchase all-session passes now at AllVols.com for $10 and single-match tickets for $5. Parking will be free for all matches in the G-10 (Neyland) parking garage. Fans should note changes to the normal G-10 parking access points, the garage will not be accessible southbound on Phillip Fulmer Way. Fulmer will be closed to southbound traffic at Middle Drive, and Fulmer will not be accessible via Peyton Manning Pass. The garage will be accessible from Lake Loudoun Boulevard, but fans are strongly encouraged to enter G-10 via Neyland Drive.

This is the 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Big Orange's seeding marks the highest in UT history, and it's the first time the Lady Vols have hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament since 2011, when Tennessee was the No. 11 seed—the previous program-best seeding.

This is the third consecutive trip to the dance for UT and the fourth under head coach Eve Rackham Watt (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). The Orange & White head into the tournament 24-4 overall and 15-3 in SEC play. The Lady Vols finished second in the league, the conference with a tournament-best eight bids.

In Tennessee's previous appearances under Rackham Watt, it advanced to the second round of the tournament after first-round wins over Colorado State (2018) and North Carolina (2021). Last year, the Lady Vols fell short in a five-set battle to Purdue in the first round.

For Rackham Watt, this is her 12th postseason appearance as a coach–fourth as head coach. She made the NCAA Tournament eight times as an assistant at North Carolina. Rackham Watt also made four postseason trips as a player.

TICKETING PROCEDURE
Tickets to all Tennessee Athletics events are digital and can be accessed through a mobile device to improve security and reduce the risk of ticket fraud as well as make the process more convenient for fans.

Fans will gain admission into all venues via a unique QR code which will be scanned directly from a mobile device. For quick and easy entry into Tennessee Athletics venues, fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app from the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play (Android).

Digital tickets can be managed via a mobile device or desktop web browser, but a mobile device is required for venue access on matchdays.

Your mobile device is the ticket on gameday. All valid digital tickets will display a moving barcode or a hold near reader (tap-and-go) icon. PLEASE NOTE: SCREENSHOTS OF TICKETS WILL NOT SCAN AT THE GATE AND WILL NOT ALLOW ENTRY!

Tennessee NCAA Tournament Notes

The Lady Vols boast 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and own a 15-17 record.
The Big Orange's No. 10 national seed marks the highest in program history, beating the previous record of No. 11 in 2011.
UT has been a host school in the tournament nine times (1982, 1984, 1993, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2023).
The furthest Tennessee has ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament is the semifinals in 2005, when the Lady Vols finished with a 25-9 record after earning the program's first-ever Final Four appearance.
The Lady Vols are 11-6 in first round matchups all time, 2-9 in the second round, 1-1 in the round of 16, 1-0 in the quarterfinals and 0-1 in the semifinals.

Tennessee vs. The Field

The Lady Vols were 10-3 against NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season.
Tennessee's top win came in a 3-0 road sweep against the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats.
Impressively, the Big Orange was 5-1 when playing on the road against tournament teams. UT's lone loss came at the hands of No. 1 seed Wisconsin in a five-set thriller in September.
UT was 2-0 against both Missouri and Texas A&M, and the Lady Vols were 1-0 against Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Marquette. The latter two teams were both road victories for Tennessee.

Recapping the Lady Vols' Incredible Regular Season

Tennessee is in the process of one of its best seasons in program history, posting a 24-4 overall record and 15-3 in conference play, climbing to No. 8 in the AVCA polls—the second-highest ranking in program history.
The Lady Vols boast one of the nation's best offenses, ranking inside the top five in the country and leading the SEC in kills per set (2nd/14.79), assists per set (3rd/13.57) and hitting percentage (5th/.304).
The Big Orange has swept 17 opponents on the year, including 10 contests during league play, and has lost just 15 sets in 18 matches against SEC foes. The Lady Vols won 18 straight sets during the end of non-conference play through the first few SEC contests.
Tennessee defeated four top-25 teams on the season, including road wins at No. 20 Florida, No. 22 Kentucky and No. 24 Marquette.
UT boasted an impressive 11-2 when playing on the road and finished with an 8-1 record in away SEC matches.
Tennessee was well represented with the SEC yearly honors. Representing the Big Orange, Eve Rackham Watt received Co-SEC Coach of the Year, while graduate student Morgahn Fingall repeated as Co-SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fingall along with redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr and graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore were selected for the All-SEC Team. Kerr was also placed on the SEC All-Freshman Team.