Tennessee Vols morning report: Coaches, players talk 45-42 Kentucky win
It’s one of the most exciting early Novembers in years for the Tennessee Vols. The football program is coming off a top 20 win and effectively guaranteed itself a winning record, basketball season starts with high expectations on both sides, and a title was just earned in another sport.
Our morning update on Rocky Top will touch on a few of these things. Fresh off concluding their own internal investigation, the football program scored a huge victory over the weekend to continue its momentum. We’ll continue to cover the aftermath of that win.
An SEC Tournament championship took place this weekend, and we’ll get to that as well. Wins in volleyball and swimming and diving also occurred along with individual performances at a tennis event. We’ll touch on all of these things, starting with football.
Josh Heupel talks win over Kentucky – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
Fresh off a bye week, the Tennessee Vols football team upset the Kentucky Wildcats 45-42 at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. over the weekend. UT improved to 5-4 on the year and 3-3 in the SEC, while UK fell to 6-3 on the year and 4-3 in the SEC. Head coach Josh Heupel recapped the win afterward. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“Hey, just a great night for our guys, man. All the effort, work they’ve put into it. Proud of their effort and energy tonight, continuing to compete for 60 minutes. There are a lot of things we can do better on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but overall really happy.”"
Key players recap Kentucky win – Ben McKee, VolQuest
Hendon Hooker, Alontae Taylor and Velus Jones Jr. were three of Tennessee football’s most important players in their huge win over a top 20 team on the road this past weekend. All of them spoke with the media afterward. Hooker completed 15-of-20 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns with no picks. He also ran for 41 yards. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“I honestly feel confident with any of my receivers out there. They’re the best receiving corps. in the nation in my opinion.”"
Taylor had a pick-six to put the Vols up by 10 points in the third quarter. After saying earlier in the week UT doesn’t lose to Kentucky, he backed it up with that play. Here’s what he said about what it means to get back to beating UK.
"“This year we got it done, fought hard. Really good team over the other side of the ball. A lot of respect to those guys, but we got it done today. You know, that’s just momentum that we’ll take into next season when we play them again.”"
Jones had 100 yards receiving, including a 72-yard touchdown, and a key 31-yard kickoff return that spotted the Vols the ball at midfield after he drew a horse-collar. He also drew a pass interference on a 4th and 4 pass to keep an eventual UT touchdown drive alive. Here’s how he described the flow of the game.
"“We knew that we were going to get points up on the board, you know everybody just had to follow through with the details and stuff like that. Everybody had to be on point. And so, you know, that’s what happened.”"
Soccer wins SEC Tournament championship – SECSports
In a major upset on Sunday, the No. 10 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team upset the No. 5 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship. UT won its fifth overall conference title in the sport and first since 2008.
"Tennessee, the 2-seed, put together a strong all-around performance to upend 1-seed Arkansas, 3-0, in the SEC Tournament championship match Sunday in Orange Beach, Alabama.The three Lady Volunteer goals were scored by Wrenne French, Hannah Tillett and Jaida Thomas, but it was a team effort on defense that led to the shutout."
Volleyball sweeps Ole Miss – Nate Tosado, UT Daily Beacon
On the heels of three straight losses, the No. 22 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball team got back in the win column Sunday. UT beat the Ole Miss Rebels in three sets.
"Tennessee (17-6, 9-4 SEC) was firing all cylinders with outstanding performances by graduate student Breanna Runnels and junior Morgahn Fingall. Runnels notched a double-double with a team-best of 14 kills and 11 digs."
Swimming and diving sweeps Kentucky – UTSports
Both the men’s and women’s Tennessee Vols swimming and diving programs scored victories over the Kentucky Wildcats on the road this past Friday. The men improved to 3-1 on the year, and the women improved to 4-0.
"The Lady Vols earned their second-straight top-15 win with a 161.5-138.5 victory against 12th-ranked Kentucky, who is the reigning SEC champion, while the Vols cruised to a 192-108 win against the Wildcats. Tennessee posted three meet records on the day."
Lady Vols tennis players conclude ITA Fall Championships – WeAreCollegeTennis.com
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall National Championships came to a conclusion Sunday. You can see the full bracket here. Tennessee Lady Vols senior Rebeka Mertena lost in the main draw to Daria Frayman of the Princeton Tigers on Friday, and freshman Elza Tomase lost to Kyle Collins of the Texas Longhorns in the consolation draw.
"The Championships are the grand finale to the fall collegiate tennis season and feature 64 of the nation’s top collegiate singles players (32 men and 32 women) and 64 of the nation’s top collegiate doubles teams (32 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams). The event is in its fifth year, having replaced the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships beginning in 2017."