On Monday, Kennedi Rogers was named Southeastern Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Rogers has been a dominant force since taking the floor for Tennessee volleyball. She leads the team in kills with 68 and has a .350 hitting percentage. Rogers is second in the nation in both kills per set (5.67) and points per set (6.29).
Rogers sat down for a conversation on Tuesday’s episode of the Mike Keith Show. She broke down why the Lady Vols are off to a great start and other topics. Tennessee is the No. 17 team in the country and will face its biggest challenge yet in No. 2 Pitt Wednesday night in the Shriners Children’s Showdown at the Net.
So, what makes the Lady Vols good? It all starts with the training and hard work they’ve put in all year, and the people who make sure everyone is striving to be the best.
“We have a really good training system with Coach [Brad] Roll with how we worked and led practices throughout the summer as well,” Rogers told Keith. “In that preseason, I think that just really was the glue to it all, putting spring, summer and all that stuff together.
“Preseason is where you really saw everything kind of come into play and blossom there, which is really nice, but we just train really hard. Day in, day out, we practiced so hard. We work so hard. We have a great coaching staff, great support staff. Everyone here is just amazing and pours into us so much. It’s just, how can we not be successful?”
That hard work has been evident in how the Lady Vols respond to adversity in-match. Sunday’s win over No. 21 Indiana was probably their best example yet of just being resilient. The Hoosiers led in every set by several points, but Tennessee found a way to remain perfect on the season with a fifth sweep.
For Rogers’ success this season, she spoke with gratitude for her coaches and teammates. One in particular is three-time All-American setter Caroline Kerr, who was named SEC Co-Setter of the Week. Kerr runs the show and puts her teammates in great position to capitalize. She’s accumulated 169 assists this season.
“I’m taking a lot of swings, getting a lot of kills, not to mention I just have a great team,” Rogers said. “Like my setter, Caroline. She has all the stats to back it up. She’s insane. She’s the best setter in the country, hands down. She gives me a bunch of great looks and my teammates just have so much confidence in me. So I think that just helps me be able to perform the way I do.”
Keith asked who is unheralded and needs to be mentioned. Without hesitation, Rogers mentioned opposite hitter Jalyn Stout.
“I mean, she’s insane,” Rogers said. “She’s not talked about enough. That’s my partner in crime. She helps me get splits. I help her. We work together. I’ve never seen a lefty opposite pass the way she passes. She plays insane defense, and she’s so hard to block.”
Stout can do it all. She is second on the team with 43 kills and 47.5 points, third on the team with 34 digs and has eight blocks. Head coach Eve Rackham Watt has spoken on how she is one of the high-IQ players on the team.
Rogers came to Knoxville through the transfer portal from Southern Methodist University, and she was clear about what set the program apart.
“I don’t think it’s like every other school,” she said. “We have our own Lady Vols logo. We’re our own entity. I think Tennessee is more one of those dominant schools. I feel like no one has really been talking lately in SEC volleyball. I just wanted to come here and continue to help this program blossom and grow and get more attention.”
She sees the sport trending upward nationally and believes Tennessee can help lead that push. The fan support has already made an impression. Tennessee has set a new home attendance record every time it has played in Knoxville this season.
“The fan base here is literally insane,” Rogers said. “I’ve never been at a volleyball stadium where they were supporting us and there were that many people there to just support us.”
Tennessee meets its stiffest test yet Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. EDT, inside the State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida. Rogers welcomes it, and has full belief that hard work will continue to pay off.
“This will be a true test and a big challenge for us, but I think we’re ready for it,” Rogers said. “We’ve practiced, like I said, so hard in the offseason, preseason, summer, all of that. So I think we’re ready for what they have, honestly.”
