VB Weekend Preview: West Coast Trip, Showdown with No. 1 Wisconsin

Tennessee volleyball is set for a loaded weekend slate, as the 24th-ranked Lady Vols head to the West Coast for the San Diego Invitational on Thursday and Friday before traveling to Madison, Wisconsin, to face off against the No. 1 Badgers on Sunday.

Kicking off the trip, Tennessee will take on San Diego on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and tickets are available for $10. On Friday, UT plays Boston College in a 7 p.m. ET first serve. The match will not be streamed. Rounding out the trip is the road match against Wisconsin at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. Fans can watch live on B1G+.

Opening Weekend Notables

Tennessee enjoyed a perfect 3-0 weekend to begin the season, sweeping all three foes during the Tennessee Classic.
Graduate student Morgahn Fingall earned MVP honors after posting 28 kills on a .338 hitting percentage, 12 digs, five blocks and two aces.
In her first season with the Lady Vols, graduate student Jenaisya Moore wasted no time make her impact felt. The outside hitter netted a team-high 32 kills, which accounted for 24 percent of UT's total kills. The Germantown, Maryland, native earned a spot on the Tennessee Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts on the weekend, which included two double-digit kill performances, 14 digs, three aces, three blocks and one assist in nine sets.
Rounding out the All-Tournament honorees was redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr. Making her collegiate debut over the weekend, she combined for 94 assists, 18 digs, 10 aces, eight kills and one block in nine sets. She eclipsed the 30-assist margin twice and assisted on 71 percent of Tennessee's kills, helping fuel the Lady Vol attack that leads the SEC in hitting percentage (.389) and ranks third in kills per set (14.78).
UT's defense was stellar to begin the year. The Lady Vols limited limit opposing attackers to a .093 hitting percentage and held opponents to 15 points or less in seven out of the nine sets on the weekend.
During the final match, the Big Orange held UT Martin to eight points in the second set and nine in the third. That marked the first time in the rally-scoring era (since 2001) that Tennessee held an opponent to single-digits in two sets during a match.
Offensively, the Lady Vols enjoyed a balanced attack and efficient hitting to cruise through each match. Five different players recorded at least 15 kills on the weekend, while UT's .389 hitting percentage ranks second nationally.
Another area of success was on serves. The Big Orange recorded 28 aces compared to giving up just four. At 3.11 aces per set, Tennessee ranks fifth in the country in the category. Kerr's 10 aces check in at ninth in the nation.
In addition to Kerr, freshmen Katie Barrier, Sydney Jaynes and Mackenzie Plante made their collegiate debut.

West Coast Trip & Wisconsin Preview

This weekend, Tennessee will take on San Diego and Boston College in the USD Invitational before heading to Madison for a matchup against No. 1 Wisconsin.
The Toreros, who were ranked 13th in the preseason poll, advanced to the Final Four last season but graduated a lot of talent from the roster. Nonetheless, San Diego is a perennial and will look to bounce back on its homecourt after a tough 0-3 start to the season. The all-time series is tied at 1-1 after the teams split a weekend series in 2018.
UT and Boston College will meet for just the second time ever on Friday night, with the Lady Vols winning 3-0 on Sept. 8, 2012. The Eagles won the National Invitational Volleyball Championship last season are off to a 2-0 start this year.
For the first time since 1981, Tennessee and Wisconsin will face off against each other. UT holds the all-time series lead 2-1. With the Badgers being the top-ranked team in the country, this marks UT's first matchup against a No. 1 team since facing Florida (L, 3-0) on Sept. 29, 2017. It's the eighth time in the program's history that the Big Orange matches up against the No. 1 squad in the country, as the Lady Vols look to earn their first upset victory.

2023 Roster Breakdown

The 2023 edition of Tennessee volleyball looks to be a fun one with plenty of big-time matchups in store and a cast of talented student-athletes ready to compete.
With a roster of 21 student-athletes, the Lady Vols boast one on of the deepest squads in the league. Head coach Eve Rackham Watt and her staff will have plenty of options at each position this season.
In total, there are 12 returners from a year ago, including five starters and the libero, while four transfers arrived on Rocky Top with a combined 15 seasons of Division I experience. Three of the four will be playing in their fifth season thanks to the extra COVID year. Rounding out the roster, UT brought in five freshmen from around the country.
Tennessee will be led by Morgahn Fingall, who earned All-America honors last season as one of the nation's top attackers. Between Fingall, Erykah Lovett and Jenaisya Moore, the Big Orange enjoys a formidable group of outside hitters.
Moore was the highlight of this transfer class, arriving in Knoxville after four seasons at Ohio State. Lovett was a huge addition from the transfer portal last season, when she totaled 379 kills, 312 digs and 13 double-doubles as a sophomore.
With the departures of middle blocker Danielle Mahaffey and setter Natalie Hayward, the Lady Vols have options to address those positions.
After earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors last year, Kiki Granberry and transfer Raeven Chase will present a strong front for Tennessee at the middle blocker spot. Granberry posted 103 total blocks last year, while Chase has crossed the triple-digit blocks mark during each of her last three seasons.
At setter, graduate transfer Lauren Woodford from Syracuse, graduate student Kylie Robinson and redshirt freshman Caroline Kerr will battle it out for the spot.
Rounding things out, the libero position will be up for grabs between Ashllyn King, who transitioned to the role last year after starting out as an outside hitter and defensive specialist, and graduate transfer Yelianiz Torres.

Recapping Fingall's 2022 Campaign

As a senior last season, Morgahn Fingall enjoyed the best year of her career, earning All-American recognition by AVCA and VolleyballMag.com. She received an All-SEC First Team nod and was stellar in the classroom, being named the 2022 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Cementing herself as one of the nation's best attackers, Fingall led the SEC in kills per set and points per set last season while also finishing second in kills and total points. She ranked in the top-30 nationally in all four categories despite being 91st in the nation in total attacks, making her one of the most efficient players in the nation.
Fingall is on the verge of entering the Lady Vols all-time top-10 lists for both kills and kills per set, giving her an opportunity to etch her name further into UT history. Last season, her 483 kills and 4.39 kills per set were the second most in Tennessee history during a single season in the 25-point rally-scoring era. She ranks fourth among returning Power 5 players in kills per set.
In total, she posted double-digit kills in 26 matches, including eight outings with 20-plus kills and three efforts with 25 or more kills.
She broke or matched the Tennessee records during in the 25-point rally-scoring era by number of sets played: three (23 vs. Alabama), four (27 vs. LSU) and five (29 vs. Mississippi State).

Transfer Class Set to Make an Impact

During the offseason, the Lady Vols added four talented transfers, who are expected to make immediate impacts, to their already veteran group.
Graduate student Jenaisya Moore comes to Rocky Top after playing four seasons for Ohio State as an outside hitter. She helped lead the Buckeyes to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a regional final run (Elite Eight) in 2022. Last season, she set a career-high with 362 kills and hit a career-best .249 as one of the top attackers in the country.
Graduate student Yelianiz Torres joined the Lady Vols after four seasons as a libero for Bowling Green, in which she appeared in every match and collected a career-high 579 digs. Her experience and skill at the libero position made her a massive addition for the Lady Vols.
Helping fill a major void at middle blocker is graduate student Raeven Chase from Eastern Michigan. During her time in Ypsilanti, she was twice named to the All-MAC First Team and has recorded 100-plus blocks in each of the last three seasons, making her one of the top shot blockers in the nation. She brings 765 career kills and 422 career blocks to Rocky Top.
Rounding out the group is setter Lauren Woodford, who is a graduate transfer from Syracuse with two years of eligibility remaining. Last season, she led the Orange with 568 assists and averaged 5.51 assists per set. For her career, she boasts 568 assists for an average of 5.51 assists per set.

Granberry, Pawlik Learned From Valuable Reps in 2022

With Danielle Mahaffey missing the majority of the 2022 campaign, two middle blockers earned valuable reps that prepared them for even bigger roles this season.
Kiki Granberry, who was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, and Klaudia Pawlik were both expected to added depth at the blocker position last year but were quickly thrust into starting roles.
Granberry started in all but one match on the year and led the team in total blocks with 103 in 114 sets. She was also third on the team in kills, tallying 149.
Pawlik started in the other middle blocker role until Mahaffey returned during the back half of the season. The Poland native made the most of her opportunity, recording an impressive 67 blocks in just 59 sets player. Her 1.14 blocks per set were second on the team behind only Mahaffey's 1.15 bps in 41 sets.
Along with Raeven Chase, the Tennessee middle blockers are expecting big things this year thanks to valuable experience earned in 2022.

Lady Vols Return Second-Highest Percentage of Kills in SEC

During three of the first five seasons under head coach Eve Rackham Watt's direction, the Lady Vols ranked inside the top three in the SEC in kills. Last year, the squad ranked second, marking the best finish since UT led the league in 2018 in Eve's first season on Rocky Top. Heading into 2023, Tennessee could boast its best offensive attack yet.
UT finished with 1553 kills last year. The Big Orange returned a whopping 1287 kills, meaning the group brings back 82.9% of its total team kills this season. That mark is the second-highest in the conference behind only Auburn (96.5%).
Led by Morgahn Fingall and Erykah Lovett, Tennessee returns its top four attackers from a year ago. Fingall (483) and Lovett (379) both ranked inside the top 10 in the SEC in kills, while Kiki Granberry (149) and Jasmine Brooks (133) round things out. Between the four, they accounted for 74 percent of UT's kills last year.
To make things even scarier for opposing defenses, the Lady Vols brought in one of the top transfers in the country in Jenaisya Moore, who set a career-high with 362 kills last year with Ohio State. Paired with Fingall and Lovett, the trio looks to be one of the best attacking fronts in the country.
In fact, Tennessee is one of only 10 schools in all of Division I and is the only SEC team to boast three individuals on its 2023 roster (including transfers) who combined for more than 1,000 total kills in 2022, with Fingall, Lovett and Moore. The trio's numbers ranked fifth nationally for most combined kills from last year with 1,224 and were the third most among Power 5 schools.

VB Weekend Preview: West Coast Trip, Showdown with No. 1 Wisconsin

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katie Barrier

Jasmine Brooks

Raeven Chase

Morgahn Fingall

Natalie Hayward

Sydney Jaynes

Caroline Kerr

Ashllyn King

Erykah Lovett

Danielle Mahaffey

Jenaisya Moore

Klaudia Pawlik

Mackenzie Plante

Kylie Robinson

Yelianiz Torres

Lauren Woodford

University of Tennessee Athletics

VB Weekend Preview: West Coast Trip, Showdown with No. 1 Wisconsin

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katie Barrier

Jasmine Brooks

Raeven Chase

Morgahn Fingall

Natalie Hayward

Sydney Jaynes

Caroline Kerr

Ashllyn King

Erykah Lovett

Danielle Mahaffey

Jenaisya Moore

Klaudia Pawlik

Mackenzie Plante

Kylie Robinson

Yelianiz Torres

Lauren Woodford

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