The golf team won the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate tournament for the second year in a row with Madison Messimer tying for the individual title at 12-under-par.

No. 16 Tennessee, which won its first-ever SEC championship last spring, defended its Knoxville title this week at Cherokee Country Club with Sophie Christopher at four under and Kyra Van Kan at two under. Tennessee finished first with Baylor second and High Point third.

The full field included USF, East Carolina, South Alabama, Abilene Christian, East Tennessee State, Florida International, Campbell, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Kennesaw State, Charleston Southern and Chattanooga.

Messimer and High Point’s Makayla Grubb matched the best 54-hole score in tournament history, previously set by UCF’s Molly Smith in 2023.

The Lady Vols will finish the fall slate at the Abilene Christian Intercollegiate on Oct. 19-21 at Halbert National in Granbury, Texas.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team secured its first SEC win last Sunday with a three-set sweep of Auburn on the Plains after starting 0-2. In Tennessee’s defense, the conference has five ranked teams, and the Lady Vols played two top 10 foes in Texas at home and Florida on the road to open the season.

After the win over Auburn on the road, Tennessee (10-3, 1-2) entered the top 10 at No. 10 with Texas at No. 9 and Florida at No. 5.

After back-to-back road games, Tennessee will host Ole Miss tonight, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m. and LSU on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Both matches will be livestreamed on SECN+. The Rebels are 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference with wins over Alabama and Missouri and a loss to Vanderbilt. The Tigers are 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the conference with wins over Alabama and Missouri and losses to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

The Lady Vols will go dark mode for the Ole Miss matchup, and  the first 500 fans will receive a dark mode T-shirt.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its 46-player of the year watchlist Thursday, and three Lady Vols are candidates in Caroline Kerr, Kennedi Rogers and Jalyn Stout. The trio has been critical this season.

Kerr leads the team with 459 assists and 10.93 assists per set, the latter stat ranking her sixth in Division I. Rogers leads the team in kills (164), kills per set (4.56), points (184) and points per set (5.11) and is ranked 11th nationally in both kills per set and points per set. Stout has 124 kills, 92 digs, 29 blocks and 26 assists and .338 hitting percentage, which ranks 11th in the SEC.

Rogers will be the guest on the Everything Orange podcast, which airs on Tennessee Athletics’ YouTube page HERE. Rogers explained she started as a cheerleader but as a spotter in the back, her father noticed she was being stepped on, and her mother suggested volleyball. That turned out to be a good idea.

The AVCA list will be narrowed to semifinalists in November with finalists announced in December. The winner will be revealed on Dec. 18.

SOCCER

After back-to-back losses in SEC play – and the first defeats of the 2026 season – Tennessee (6-2-3, 1-2-2) will seek to get back in the win column tonight, Oct. 9, at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 11 while the Lady Vols fell out of the top 25.

South Carolina is 10-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the SEC. A win would be a significant boost for Tennessee, which is trying to get out of an offensive tailspin.

Match time is set for 7 p.m. with a livestream on SECN+.

SOFTBALL

Fall ball continues with three consecutive days of softball starting tonight, Oct. 9, against Northeast Alabama at 6 p.m. at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Tennessee will host Northwest Florida State at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Roane State at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Tennessee and Carson-Newman played 10 innings last weekend by design with the Lady Vols winning 19-1.

After this weekend, just two fall games remain: Oct. 18 at Middle Tennessee at 3 p.m. and Oct. 23 against Lee University at home at 6 p.m.

Sophomore outfielder Taelyn Holley wore a mic for a recent workout and revealed her two most frequently used words – bruh and like.

As always, admission is free for fall contests, and gates open one hour prior to first pitch. Restrooms will be open, but concessions will not be available.

BASKETBALL

SEC Media days are next week, and the Lady Vols will make their appearance Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Grand Bohemian Hotel-Mountain Brook in suburban Birmingham, Alabama.

Fifth-year guard Kaylene Smikle and senior guard Rylie Theuerkauf will accompany coach Kim Caldwell to Southeastern Conference Tip-Off ’27, as it is officially called.

With 16 teams in the SEC, the event is held Oct. 13-14, with Tennessee drawing the first day, and multiple segments are shown on the SEC Network.

Caldwell, Smikle and Theuerkauf will be live on the SEC Network from 6:05-6:20 p.m. Eastern time on Oct. 13.

USA TODAY Sports “Way-Too-Early” Top 25 last spring ranked Tennessee at No. 25. The 13-player portal signing class was ranked No. 9. The 15-player roster also includes two freshmen.

Single game tickets are on sale now HERE, and the exhibition game on Oct. 27 against Florida A&M at 6:30 p.m. will welcome Tennessee basketball legend Bridgette Gordon back to Knoxville. Gordon is now the head coach of the Rattlers.

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Maria M. Cornelius began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition was released June 16, 2026. A third book, “The Legacy of Pat Summitt” will be released Nov. 17, 2026.