KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball team is set to kick off the Tennessee Classic against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Friday night in Thompson-Boling Arena at 7:00 P.M. EST.
Tennessee is coming off a successful 2021 season in which they made it to the second round of competition in the NCAA tournament and finished fourth in the SEC.
The Lady Vols started strong with a win in an exhibition match against Belmont last Saturday and look to parlay that success into the regular season opener.
The Lady Vols are returning several key players from last season with stars Morgahn Fingall, Natalie Hayward, and Danielle Mahaffey picking up All-SEC preseason team selections. However, the Lady Vols were slated to finish third in the conference in the coaches’ poll, a slight bump up from last season’s fourth-place SEC finish.
The Lady Vols are also without key player Lily Felts who transferred to Florida Gulf Coast in her final season of eligibility.
The team has reloaded its roster with the likes of newcomer Kadynce Booth out of Kernersville, North Carolina who earned an AVCA 2021 Third Team All-American accolade in her final year of high school play.
They also added Kylie Robinson from the University of Oregon and Erykah Lovett from Long Beach State. Lovett will be one to watch when she serves, as she led Long Beach State in service aces with 42.