University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, September 19
University Park, Pa.
1 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
vs
USF
Weekend Preview: #16 Lady Vols Face USF & #9 Penn State to Cap Nonconference Play
September 18, 2026 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 16 Tennessee volleyball team heads north to Happy Valley for the Penn State Classic for its final nonconference action of the regular season. The Lady Vols will play two matches over the weekend, first facing USF on Saturday before facing No. 9 Penn State on Sunday.
Saturday's match against USF is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. Sunday's contest against Penn State is slated for 2 p.m. ET and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
Tennessee and USF have played three times, with UT owning a 3-0 record. This will be the second consecutive year the Lady Vols and the Bulls will face off. The two programs met last year on the season's opening day, with the Lady Vols earning the sweep. Tennessee and Penn State have met on 10 occasions, with the Nittany Lions holding the edge in the series with a 6-4 record. The two teams last met on Aug. 30, 2024, in Knoxville, with Penn State earning a four-set victory.
The Big Orange enters after picking up its first road victory of the season in a sweep against Queens. The Lady Vols outpaced the Royals offensively, finishing with 43 kills on .344 hitting. Tennessee held Queens to a .121 hitting percentage and forced 19 attack errors. Morgan Williams got her second start of the season, leading the team with 10 kills. Jalyn Stout and Maggie Dostic followed with nine kills each, with Dostic adding a team-leading nine digs. Anni Tang showed up big at the net for Tennessee, posting a season-best five blocks in the victory.
USF enters the weekend after a loss at home to Michigan last week. Leading the Bulls on offense is Paula Tomasa with 107 kills. The freshman is one of the top hitters in the American Conference, ranking third in the conference in both kills per set (3.82) and points per set (4.45). USF ranks as one of the top block defense teams in the country, ranking top 30 nationally in blocks per set at 2.68. Amelia Wass de Czege and Tomasa lead the team with 37 and 29 blocks respectively. At an average of 1.42 blocks per set, Wass de Czege ranks as one of the nation's top blockers sitting 25th in Division I.
Penn State is coming off a four set win over Villanova on Tuesday. Kennedy Martin leads the Nittany Lions in kills at 88, while setter Alexis Stucky paces the offense with 244 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols has 50 kills on a .460 hitting percentage that ranks 14th nationally. Ava Faltudo leads team Penn State floor defense with 100 digs, and averages 3.57 digs per set. The duo of Nichols and Ryla Jones lead the team in blocks with 26 and 25 blocks each.
Caroline Kerr has been an important piece to the Lady Vols' early season offensive success. Across the team's eight matches, Kerr has 271 assists and an 11.29 assists per set average, which ranks seventh in Division I. Kerr continues her quest to reach the 4,000 career assist mark, which would make the fifth year setter the fourth Lady Vol to do so. Kerr moved up to fifth in program history in career assists in Tennessee's win over Coastal Carolina, passing Sedona Hansen (3,494 assists, 2016-19). Kerr enters the weekend with 3,530; 12 assists shy of passing Wendy Jones (1986-89) for fourth all-time in UT history.
The UT offense has continuously ranked as one of the top units in the nation under head coach Eve Rackham Watt. The Lady Vols lead all of Division I with a 15.04 kills per set average. The team ranks sixth in the nation in hitting percentage at .329. In five of its last eight seasons, Tennessee has ranked in the top 20 in either kills per set or hitting percentage. In 2025, UT finished the campaign in the top 15 in both categories, ranking 10th in hitting percentage at .292, and 11th in kills per set at 14.27.
Saturday's match against USF is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. Sunday's contest against Penn State is slated for 2 p.m. ET and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
Tennessee and USF have played three times, with UT owning a 3-0 record. This will be the second consecutive year the Lady Vols and the Bulls will face off. The two programs met last year on the season's opening day, with the Lady Vols earning the sweep. Tennessee and Penn State have met on 10 occasions, with the Nittany Lions holding the edge in the series with a 6-4 record. The two teams last met on Aug. 30, 2024, in Knoxville, with Penn State earning a four-set victory.
The Big Orange enters after picking up its first road victory of the season in a sweep against Queens. The Lady Vols outpaced the Royals offensively, finishing with 43 kills on .344 hitting. Tennessee held Queens to a .121 hitting percentage and forced 19 attack errors. Morgan Williams got her second start of the season, leading the team with 10 kills. Jalyn Stout and Maggie Dostic followed with nine kills each, with Dostic adding a team-leading nine digs. Anni Tang showed up big at the net for Tennessee, posting a season-best five blocks in the victory.
USF enters the weekend after a loss at home to Michigan last week. Leading the Bulls on offense is Paula Tomasa with 107 kills. The freshman is one of the top hitters in the American Conference, ranking third in the conference in both kills per set (3.82) and points per set (4.45). USF ranks as one of the top block defense teams in the country, ranking top 30 nationally in blocks per set at 2.68. Amelia Wass de Czege and Tomasa lead the team with 37 and 29 blocks respectively. At an average of 1.42 blocks per set, Wass de Czege ranks as one of the nation's top blockers sitting 25th in Division I.
Penn State is coming off a four set win over Villanova on Tuesday. Kennedy Martin leads the Nittany Lions in kills at 88, while setter Alexis Stucky paces the offense with 244 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols has 50 kills on a .460 hitting percentage that ranks 14th nationally. Ava Faltudo leads team Penn State floor defense with 100 digs, and averages 3.57 digs per set. The duo of Nichols and Ryla Jones lead the team in blocks with 26 and 25 blocks each.
Caroline Kerr has been an important piece to the Lady Vols' early season offensive success. Across the team's eight matches, Kerr has 271 assists and an 11.29 assists per set average, which ranks seventh in Division I. Kerr continues her quest to reach the 4,000 career assist mark, which would make the fifth year setter the fourth Lady Vol to do so. Kerr moved up to fifth in program history in career assists in Tennessee's win over Coastal Carolina, passing Sedona Hansen (3,494 assists, 2016-19). Kerr enters the weekend with 3,530; 12 assists shy of passing Wendy Jones (1986-89) for fourth all-time in UT history.
The UT offense has continuously ranked as one of the top units in the nation under head coach Eve Rackham Watt. The Lady Vols lead all of Division I with a 15.04 kills per set average. The team ranks sixth in the nation in hitting percentage at .329. In five of its last eight seasons, Tennessee has ranked in the top 20 in either kills per set or hitting percentage. In 2025, UT finished the campaign in the top 15 in both categories, ranking 10th in hitting percentage at .292, and 11th in kills per set at 14.27.
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