Five Conference Champions, 10 NCAA Teams Highlight 2023 Tennessee Volleyball Schedule

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With plenty of excitement heading into the upcoming season, Tennessee volleyball head coach Eve Rackham Watt announced Thursday the team's 2023 schedule.

"We are excited to announce our 2023 schedule," Rackham Watt said. "Our non-conference will certainly challenge us, playing a number of NCAA Tournament teams from last season. The SEC continues to improve, leading the country last year in qualified postseason teams. We look forward to the opportunity to learn about ourselves each week and hopefully be playing our best volleyball in December."

After advancing to the NCAA Tournament and finishing tied for fourth in the SEC despite battling injuries for the majority of last season, the Lady Vols return the majority of their offensive firepower and bolster the roster more with a strong signing class with transfers and freshmen. Tennessee enters the 28-match slate with plenty of momentum and excitement this coming fall.

The Big Orange's schedule features 14 home matches, starting with the Tennessee Classic on Aug. 25-26. For fans looking to purchase 2023 volleyball season tickets, they will go on sale Tuesday, June 27.

Tennessee's schedule includes 12 matches against 10 different teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including six teams that earned national seeds. Five opponents won their conference championships. Here's the full list of opponents who made the NCAA postseason in 2022:

Team (NCAA Seed)	Round Advanced To	Date of 2023 Matchup (Location)
San Diego (No. 2)	Semifinals	Thursday, Aug. 31 (San Diego, Calif.)
Wisconsin (No. 1)	Quarterfinals	Sunday, Sept. 3 (Madison, Wisc.)
Loyola Chicago	First Round	Friday, Sept. 8 (Chicago, Ill.)
Marquette (No. 4)	Third Round	Sunday, Sept. 10 (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Kentucky (No. 3)	Third Round	Sunday, Sept. 24 (Lexington, Ky.) Sunday, Oct. 15 (Knoxville)
LSU	Second Round	Sunday, Oct. 8 (Knoxville) Friday, Nov. 17 (Baton Rouge, La.)
Auburn	Second Round	Friday, Oct. 13 (Knoxville)
Arkansas (No. 6)	Second Round	Friday, Oct. 20 (Knoxville)
Florida (No. 3)	Third Round	Friday, Nov. 3 (Gainesville, Fla.)
Georgia	Second Round	Friday, Nov. 10 (Knoxville)

PRESEASON
The first action of the season for Tennessee volleyball will be on Aug. 18, as UT heads to the state capital to play Lipscomb in an exhibition. Fans can get their first glimpse of the squad on Wednesday, Aug. 23, when the Lady Vols hold Orange & White Scrimmage and Rowdies Round-Up at Thompson-Boling Arena.

NON-CONFERENCE
The Lady Vols officially open up the 2023 season by welcoming Texas State, Marist and UT Martin to Thompson-Boling Arena for the annual Tennessee Classic. The Lady Vols waste no time getting battle-tested to prepare for the postseason and conference play.

Beginning with a trip to California and then Wisconsin, UT takes on a pair of top-two seeded teams in last seasons' NCAA Tournament. Kicking things off, the Lady Vols travel to San Diego to face the Toreros, who advanced to the semifinals as a No. 2 seed, on Aug. 31. San Diego posted one of the best records in the country last season, going 31-2 with eight ranked wins and a perfect league record to win the West Coast Conference. The Toreros' only losses on the season were against Louisville and Texas, who faced off in the National Championship match.

The next day, the Big Orange faces a Boston College team that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament and went on to win the National Invitational Volleyball Championship to wrap up a 24-13 season. The road trip ends with a stop in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sept. 3, as Tennessee matches up against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Big Ten champs earned a No. 1 seed a year ago thanks to a 28-4 record and made it to the quarterfinals.

The following weekend, UT returns to the north with another pair of big-time road matchups against Loyola Chicago on Sept. 8 and Marquette on Sept. 10, with both programs qualifying for the NCAA Tournament last season. Loyola won the Atlantic 10 Championship and put together a strong 25-9 record. Marquette won the BIG EAST Conference regular season title to earn a No. 4 seed. The Golden Eagles were primed for a strong postseason run but fell to the eventual NCAA champions in the third round to finish with a 29-4 record.

To round out the non-conference slate, Tennessee takes on Chicago State (Sept. 14) and Evansville (Sept. 15) at Thompson-Boling Arena.

CONFERENCE
For the second year in a row, Tennessee opens the SEC schedule at home against Missouri on Sept. 20. The Lady Vols then hit the road for their first of eight matches in league play against NCAA Tournament teams, beginning with Kentucky on Sept. 24. The Wildcats earned a No. 3 seed last season. Up next, the Big Orange then travels to Mississippi State (Sept. 29), Ole Miss (Oct. 1) and Alabama (Oct. 4) to close out the four-match road swing.

LSU kicks off a slate of four consecutive home contests against tournament teams for Tennessee on Oct. 8. UT will then welcome Auburn (Oct. 13), Kentucky (Oct. 15) and Arkansas (Oct. 20) to Knoxville. The Razorbacks were a No. 6 seed last season.

The Big Orange will face Missouri on the road on Oct. 25 before coming back home to host Texas A&M on Oct. 29. The Lady Vols take on Florida, the reigning SEC champions and No. 3 seed, on Nov. 3 in Gainesville.

After a weekend series at home against Georgia (Nov. 10) and Ole Miss (Nov. 12) followed by a road trip to LSU (Nov. 17) and Texas A&M (Nov. 19), Tennessee takes on Mississippi State for Senior Night right before the Thanksgiving holiday on Wednesday, Nov. 22. UT concludes the regular season by traveling to South Carolina on Nov. 25.

To view the complete 2023 Tennessee volleyball season schedule, click HERE. Match times will be released at a later date.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Five Conference Champions, 10 NCAA Teams Highlight 2023 Tennessee Volleyball Schedule

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