On Friday night, No. 22 Tennessee volleyball hosted Colgate for the first match of the season. The Lady Vols swept the Raiders in three sets, 25-17, 25-12, 25-12, in front of a record crowd of 7,924. Coming into the season, how the transfer class would affect the team was a big topic. It took no time to see that, and Kennedi Rogers was a major force on Friday night.
For Rogers, the atmosphere in her Tennessee debut stood out as much as the result.
“It was really special and unique,” Rogers said. “A fan base like that is really different. I’ve never played in front of that many people supporting me and our team, so it was really fun. My team was super into it, and it was just really fun.”
Rogers finished the night with a game-high 14 kills and recorded 10 digs. Jalyn Stout stuffed the statsheet with 13 kills, seven digs, three assists and three blocks. And Nia Hall added seven kills and five digs. The transfer trio wasted no time meshing.
“I think it was really interesting to see how we all just kind of clicked and bonded really fast,” Rogers said. “Everyone’s really unique. Jalyn’s lefty. Nia has amazing shots. We all have really different things we bring to the table, but together as a collective we’ve all worked to make sure we could feed off each other.”
The Lady Vols, through their sweep, were cohesive as a unit. Given the team has a lot of new pieces, they didn’t allow Colgate to exploit any holes for long that could cause damage.
“Although it was a short span of time and we haven’t been playing with each other that long, it honestly feels like we’ve been playing with each other forever,” Rogers said. “You really don’t get to find that everywhere, and I think that was really unique to our team. That was a test, also the recruiting our coaches did, finding the right people that can all fit and play well together.”
All-American Caroline Kerr did what has made her special as a setter. She recorded a game-high 37 assists and recorded four blocks, just behind Chelsea Sutton’s five.
Rogers could hardly contain herself when asked about playing alongside Kerr. You could feel just how special that connection is already.
“Oh my gosh, I could go on a tangent for a day,” Rogers said. “She’s so aggressive. She brings life to our team. I love her. I wish I could just have so many more years with her, but I’m grateful for the one that I do get, and I think it’s going to be a really good year.”
Rogers talked about being new at Tennessee, and how the fit is right for her. The belief and confidence from the staff is all she needed to know this is the place.
“I think just that initial call, you could hear how confident they were that I was going to be successful and be a good fit for the team,” Rogers said. “The way they had a lot of confidence in me and told me how much they saw in me and the potential I have, and were talking about how they’re going to develop that over the course of my years here, I think was really good. That’s really what grabbed me and helped bring me in.”
Rogers was a dominant force, but she was one piece of a group that looked the part. If Friday night is any indication of what’s to come, head coach Eve Rackham Watt has a team built to make noise this season.
