KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a slate that includes 15 NCAA Tournament teams and seven conference champions, Tennessee volleyball head coach Eve Rackham Watt announced the Lady Vols’ 2024 schedule Thursday morning.
“We are excited to finally announce our 2024 schedule,” Rackham Watt said. “It is quite possibly our most challenging non-conference lineup in recent history. The SEC gets better every year, and this season will be no exception. I am looking forward to the new conference format and know it will challenge our team every night. As always, our goal is to put ourselves in a position to compete at the highest level and prepare for postseason play.”
Tennessee is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, advancing to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and earning the program’s best-ever national seed at No. 10. The Lady Vols recorded a 15-3 record in league play to finish second in the SEC, which produced a conference-high eight NCAA Tournament teams last year, and they were ranked ninth in the final AVCA poll.
After losing four starters to graduation, including three All-Americans, Tennessee’s new-look roster during the 2024 campaign will be led by All-American setter Caroline Kerr and veteran middle blocker Keondreya Granberry. The Lady Vols boast five other returners who played at least 25 sets last season and two who started double-digit matches. UT brought in nine newcomers to help replace the production from last year, with four transfers and five freshmen.
The Big Orange’s schedule features 13 home matches, starting with a contest against Penn State on Aug. 30. Season tickets are available now with a new reserved seating option. Times and network assignments will be announced at a later date.
Tennessee’s schedule includes 18 matches against 15 different teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including seven teams that earned national seeds and five that advanced to the Sweet 16. The Lady Vols will face the reigning league champs from the SEC, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-Atlantic Conference, Sun Belt Conference, Southern Conference and Northeast Conference. Here’s the full list of opponents who made the NCAA postseason in 2023:
Penn State (#5) // Sweet 16 // Friday, Aug. 30 (Knoxville)
Louisville (#2) // Elite Eight // Sunday, Sept. 1 (Louisville, Ky.)
Long Island // First Round // Friday, Sept. 6 (Knoxville)
Western Kentucky // Second Round // Tuesday, Sept. 10 (Bowling Green, Ky.)
Coastal Carolina // First Round // Saturday, Sept. 14 & Sunday, Sept. 15 (Conway, S.C.)
Wofford // First Round // Monday, Sept. 16 (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Western Michigan // Second Round // Thursday, Sept. 19 & Friday, Sept. 20 (Knoxville)
Missouri // Second Round // Sunday, Oct. 13 (Columbia, Mo.)
Kentucky (#2) // Sweet 16 // Wednesday, Oct. 16 (Knoxville)
Auburn (#7) // First Round // Sunday, Oct. 20 (Knoxville)
Florida (#4) // Second Round // Friday, Oct. 25 (Gainesville, Fla.)
Georgia // First Round // Friday, Nov. 1 (Athens, Ga.) & Friday, Nov. 15 (Knoxville)
Texas A&M // First Round // Sunday, Nov. 10 (Knoxville)
Arkansas (#3) // Elite Eight // Friday, Nov. 22 (Knoxville)
Texas (#2) // National Champs // Wednesday, Nov. 27 (Austin, Texas)
Preseason
The first action of the season for Tennessee volleyball will be on Aug. 21, when fans are invited to Food City Center for the Orange & White Scrimmage. Two days later, the Lady Vols host Lipscomb for a Friday night exhibition.
Non-Conference
Tennessee wastes no time jumping into its loaded non-conference schedule. The Big Orange opens the 2024 campaign with a home match on Friday, Aug. 30, against perennial powerhouse Penn State, who’s advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament during 20 of the last 21 seasons. Coming off a 23-9 record a year ago, the Nittany Lions return two All-Big Ten players, including All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik.
Capping off the opening weekend of play, the Lady Vols head north to face Louisville on the road on Sunday, Sept. 1. The Cardinals earned a No. 2 seed during the NCAA Tournament last year, advancing to the Elite Eight, and ended the season with a 27-5 record and ranked sixth nationally. Louisville returns a trio of All-Americans—led by outside hitter and 2023 ACC Player of the Year Anna DeBeer.
The Big Orange returns to Rocky Top the second weekend of the season, hosting UCLA (Sept. 5) and 2023 NEC champion Long Island (Sept. 6) for back-to-back matches. The Bruins were 18-12 a year ago, but they had four wins against Top-50 teams in the RPI and posted an impressive 15-5 record away from home in a tough Pac-12 conference. LIU entered its league tournament as a four seed and completed a Cinderella run to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Tennessee travels to the Bluegrass State for a second time to take on Western Kentucky. Last season, the Hilltoppers claimed their 17th Conference USA title during a historic season and entered the NCAA Tournament on a 24-match winning streak, before falling to the Lady Vols, 3-0, in the second round.
Continuing a four-match road trip, the Big Orange heads to the Palmetto State for three contests, beginning with a pair of matches against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 14-15. The Chanticleers are the reigning Sun Belt regular season and tournament champions. Coastal fell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to WKU in Knoxville. The road slate concludes with a contest at Wofford, the 2023 2023 Southern Conference Tournament champions, on Monday, Sept. 16.
On Sept. 19-20, Tennessee hosts Western Michigan for matches on back-to-back days to conclude the non-conference schedule. WMU is coming off a historic 31-3 season that saw the Broncos claim their seventh MAC title. The squad’s 31 wins in 2023 marked the most since 1982, and with an upset over seventh-seeded Auburn, they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.
CONFERENCE
Eight of Tennessee’s 14 opponents in its conference slate made the NCAA Tournament last year. Five of those eight advanced past the first round, with three making it to the Sweet 16 or further.
For the fourth year in a row, Tennessee will open SEC play at home, hosting Alabama on Sept. 25. Following that, the Big Orange will compete in four straight road matches, facing Oklahoma (Sept. 29), Ole Miss (Oct. 4) and Mississippi State (Oct. 6). The road trip ends on Oct. 13 with Missouri, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That match starts the first of five straight against NCAA teams.
The Lady Vols return home to play two matches against Kentucky (Oct. 16) and Auburn (Oct. 20). Last year, the Wildcats earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance, while the Tigers notched a No. 7 seed before falling to Western Michigan.
Following the home stint, Tennessee will play three more road matches in a row, with the first being a trip to Florida on Oct. 25. The Gators were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Round of 32. After playing Florida, the Lady Vols will take on Georgia on Nov. 1 and South Carolina on Nov. 3.
The Big Orange will play five of their last six matches of conference play inside Food City Center, starting with LSU on Nov. 8 before facing Texas A&M on Nov. 10. Tennessee goes against Georgia for the second time on the season on Nov. 15 and then plays host to Arkansas on Nov. 22. Last year, the Razorbacks were a No. 3 seed and made it to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament. To round off the home slate, the Lady Vols will play South Carolina on Senior Night on Nov. 24.
UT concludes the regular season in a road showdown and rematch from the Sweet 16 last December against the two-time reigning National Champion Texas Longhorns on Nov. 27. The two clashed in a five-set thriller that was arguably the top match of the entire tournament last year. Tennessee was the lone team to take the Longhorns to a fifth set in the tournament, with the final three sets being determined by two points each.
