After Tennessee volleyball’s season-opening sweep of Colgate on Friday night, the Lady Vols will return to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center for a double on Saturday. They are set to host Morehead State at 1 p.m. EDT and finish with Fairfield at 6 p.m. EDT.
“It’s a quick turnaround for us,” Lady Vol volleyball head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “Again, kind of minimal prep and minimal scout, so a lot of the focus will be on our side of the net in terms of what we’re doing.”
Tennessee looked great with the mix of transfer and returning talent on Friday. They finished with 49 kills and a .461 hitting percentage. The Lady Vols were just as good on defense, adding 40 digs and 9 blocks while holding Colgate to 23 kills and a .094 hitting percentage.
However, this is just the beginning, and there will always be things to work on. Three games in 24 hours gives the Lady Vols a perfect opportunity to do just that.
“I think it takes time,” Lady Vol setter Caroline Kerr said after Match 1. “Even in that game we’re working through, ‘Hey, do you need anything different? Do you like that?’ And so, even if you have been playing with people for a while, it’s never like a finished product.
“It takes trust. If I miss, I’m gonna trust my attacker’s gonna do something good with it. If I make a great set and they miss, it’s not the end of the world. And so it’s never a finished product, even with people you’ve been playing with for a long time. It’s a work in progress, and I think it’s only gonna continue to get better.”
Not only does the team become stronger, but at the beginning of the season, this run of four games in five days (Illinois on Tuesday) gives them a feel for the postseason. It’s something they can recall down the road.
“This is pretty similar to how the first weekend of the NCAA tournament goes,” Kerr said. “You play back-to-back days, so it’s really good prep for that. And just taking it one game at a time. I think any person on our team can step in and make plays on the court. And so whatever combination of people we get out there, whatever’s clicking, we’ll get the job done. We just take it one game at a time.”
Tune in to SEC Network+ at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to catch the Lady Vols Saturday. Then, return here to The Rotation Knox for postgame coverage.
