Tennessee volleyball falls in second round of NCAA Tournament to Ohio State
Lily Felts grew up being a ball girl for Tennessee volleyball, dreaming of one day playing in Thompson-Boling Arena.
On Saturday, the Knoxville native's college career came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, when Tennessee (20-10) fell in four sets to No. 9 seed Ohio State (27-5) in Columbus, Ohio. Felts' four years with the Lady Vols came full circle, matching the NCAA second round during her freshman season in coach Eve Rackham Watt's first season.
In a senior class of eight, Felts is one of four who have played for Rackham Watt all four years.
"It's always been the dream, but for it to become what it did, was just something I never even could have imagined or dreamt in my wildest dreams," said Felts, who was a standout at Berean Christian School. "It's impossible to say what being a Lady Vols means unless you've done it ... It's all I ever dreamed of, and I got to achieve that dream, and I'm going to be bragging about it for the rest of my life."
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Rackham Watt said when people think of Tennessee volleyball, she imagines Felts is one of the first players to come to mind.
"She's just done so much for the build of the program, and I would say the foundation for where we want to go," Rackham Watt said. "She's just been somebody that we've relied on and has come through time and time again, and just proud of her and happy I got a chance to coach her."
Felts has been one of Tennessee's top offensive players, along with Breana Runnels and Morghan Fingall. Runnels, who transferred to Tennessee this season, led the team in kills Saturday with 16. Fingall tallied 13 and Felts had 11. Ohio State was a challenge in itself, let alone playing the Buckeyes at their home arena and losing the first set 25-18.
"It was great ... every time we would score point, it would just get kind of really quiet in the gym," Felts said. "I think everybody in there knew this isn't just some team that we're gonna walk all over. I think they're used to coming into their gym and being able to just beat the crap out of anybody who they come up against.
"But definitely after the second set, they were like, 'Okay, we got to get serious now, because Tennessee is not going down without a fight.'"
After winning the second set 25-14 to tie the match 1-1, Tennessee was just points away from winning sets three and four, losing both 25-21. The Lady Vols nearly forced a fifth set, tying the set four different times, and only trailing 21-20 at the end.
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"We just competed really hard – and we were good – we played well enough to win the match, we just didn't win the match," Rackham Watt said. "I told them, this is nothing to hang our heads about. It's nothing to feel bad about.
"I thought just in both matches on the weekend, we just competed really hard. And I thought it was fun to watch us play."
The season marks Rackham Watt's second 20-win season at Tennessee, and the team's best record since 2018 when the Lady Vols went 26-6.
"It's big a senior class, and they've had different journeys, but all of them have been so instrumental in what we've done as a program," Rackham Watt said. "They've just been first class kids, it's been a pleasure to coach all of them, and I just feel really fortunate. They're just a great representation of our program."
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee volleyball season ends in NCAA second round to Ohio State
