Sorry this is so late — I was out of town this weekend.

Tennessee fell in their final match at the Western Michigan Invitational to Xavier 3-1 (23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 21-25). Tessa Grubbs had 15 kills, Erica Treiber had 11 (while hitting .588), and Bri Holmes had 10. Raina Hembry had 3 blocks, 2 of them solos. Sedona Hansen put up 32 assists while Bridgette Villano dug up 17 balls.

Holmes and Treiber were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Since 2001, Tennessee only has a losing record against two conferences: the Big Ten (5-14) and the new Big East (0-2).

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // XAVIER STORY

Tennessee defeated their hosts at the Western Michigan Invitational 3-1 this morning (25-13, 24-26, 25-19, 25-23). With 13 digs in the match, Bridgette Villano reached career dig #1,000, one of only 14 players in school history to reach that milestone. Bri Holmes had 21 kills, one shy of her career best. She nearly notched a double double with 9 digs as well. Alyssa Andreno had 11 kills. She and Erica Treiber put down 3 blocks each. Sedona Hansen put up 56 assists, the most by a UT player since November 2012. Brooke Schumacher had 13 digs and 2 aces.

The Vols only had 5 team blocks in the match, the 11th fewest blocks by the squad in a winning effort in the rally-scoring era.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // WMU STORY

Tennessee moved to 7-1 on the season with another 3-1 win in the afternoon match vs Milwaukee (25-16, 24-26, 25-7, 25-21). Tessa Grubbs led both teams with 16 kills. Stephanie Buss had 9 kills and 6 blocks. Kendra Turner had 8 kills and 5 blocks. Kelsey Bawcombe had another big night serving with 4 aces, giving her 14 on the year — a quarter of the way through the season she’s just 9 short of her team-leading total for all of 2015. Mackenzie Cooler had 40 assists and just missed a double double with 8 digs. Brooke Schumacher had 14 digs.

This match was the first in the rally-scoring era where six Vols with at least 5 attempts hit over .350: Treiber .571 (4-0-7), Buss .500 (9-0-18), Raina Hembry .455 (6-1-11), Cooler .444 (5-1-9), Andreno .400 (2-0-5), and Grubbs .393 (16-5-28).

Tennessee held Milwaukee to 7 points in the third set, which is the second lowest set total by a UT opponent since 2001.

UT has hit over .300 three matches in a row.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // UWM STORY

• UT is 3-2 all-time vs Western Michigan. The sole meeting in the past 25 years was a 3-1 win in 2004. This will be only the second meeting in Kalamazoo.
• UT is meeting Milwaukee for the first time.
• UT is 3-0 all-time vs Xavier, with all three meetings occurring since 2005.
• Tennessee is 2-1 in the rally-scoring era in Erica Treiber’s home state of Michigan.
• Since 2001, the Vols are 8-3 vs the MAC, 1-1 vs the Horizon League, and 0-1 vs the Big East.
• Senior libero Bridgette Villano needs one more dig to become just the 14th player in school history to reach career dig #1,000.
• Xavier is rated #42 in PrepVolleyball’s Top 50 Ranking and #14 in Volleyball Magazine’s Mid-Major Poll.
• Western Michigan and Tennessee share a common opponent. Cleveland State defeated both the Broncos (3-1) and the Vols (3-2).
• A big update is underway on the stats page as UT career records are FINALLY being added. So far you can check out the all-time best in kills, digs, and aces.
• Here’s how some other media outlets have covered the Vols over the last two weeks:

‣ Treiber ready to take the next step for volleyball team
‣ Promising start to Vols’ volleyball season
‣ Tennessee volleyball showcases depth early in season

• UPDATE: Photos from the Tennessee Volleyball Invitational are online.

WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS

2-5 // 9/9 @ 10:00am ET // Kalamazoo MI // STATS

MILWAUKEE PANTHERS

5-1 // 9/9 @ 5:00pm ET // Kalamazoo MI // STATS

XAVIER MUSKETEERS

3-4 // 9/10 @ 12:00pm ET // Kalamazoo MI // STATS

UT gets back in the win column with a four set victory over Kent State (25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14). Bri Holmes and Tessa Grubbs led with 14 kills each. Holmes hit .400 and had a career high matching 7 digs. Grubbs had 3 blocks. Raina Hembry had 12 kills and 5 blocks. Alyssa Andreno had 11 kills and 8 blocks. Sedona Hansen put up 47 assists and 11 digs, her fourth double double in the five matches she’s played in. Bridgette Villano had 16 digs.

Tennessee hit .303, their second best team total the season so far, while holding Kent State to .097

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // KSU STORY

The Vols moved to 4-0 on the season after defeating Eastern Michigan in four sets this afternoon (25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 30-28). Bri Holmes had 17 kills while Alyssa Andreno was just behind with 16. Andreno hit .467 and had 5 blocks as well. Erica Treiber had 10 kills, hit .500, and had 4 blocks. Raina Hembrey had 9 kills and 5 blocks. And Kendra Turner had 8 kills, 3 blocks, and doubled her previous career high with 8 digs. Sedona Hansen picked up a double double with 53 assists and 17 digs. Bridgette Villano dug up 18 balls, while Brooke Schumacher contributed 10 more.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // EMU STORY

In the second match of the day, Tennessee fell to homestanding Cleveland State in a tightly contest five set match (27-29, 26-28, 25-21, 25-22, 18-16). Tessa Grubbs led the match with 23 kills. Hembry had 15, hit .407, and had 4 blocks. Bri Holmes had 15 kills as well. Erica Treiber had 10 kills and 3 blocks. Hansen earned her second double double of the say with 45 assists and 13 digs. Villano had 27 digs — one shy of her career best and the 40th most in a UT match all-time.

As a team, UT had 10 aces vs CSU, good for the 11th best total since 2001. But the match marked the first time since 2013, and the 23rd time in school history, that Tennessee lost a match after leading 2-0.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // CSU STORY

While waiting for today’s matches, be sure to check out Claudia Coco’s first “weekly inside look on what it’s like to be on the Tennessee volleyball team” if you haven’t seen it yet.

• UT is 3-1 all-time vs Eastern Michigan. The teams have only met once in the past 25 years, with the Vols getting a sweep in 1999. EMU’s lone win came in 1988 in five sets.
• UT is 2-1 all-time vs Cleveland State. The teams’ first known meeting was in 1974. Their last meeting was in 2014, with the Vols getting a 3-1 victory.
• UT and Kent State are meeting for the first time.
• Tennessee is 6-3 vs Mid-American Conference teams and 1-0 vs the Horizon League since 2001.
• The Vols are 6-3 in matches played in Ohio in the rally scoring era.
• The Kent State match is not part of the Cleveland State Invitational. That tournament is a one day affair on Friday. The next day some of the teams competing in it and the Golden Flashes Classic (held the same day as CSU’s tournament) will switch gyms to play each other in stand alone out of conference matches before heading home.
• Kent State head coach Don Gromala has coached against the Vols twice before: as a graduate assistant in 2005 with Ohio and in 2011 in the NCAA Tournament with Ohio State as an assistant coach.
• During her college playing career, EMU head coach Kimi Olson’s USC squad faced off against Tennessee in 2006. The Women of Troy won 3-1. She also coached against Tennessee as an assistant at College of Charleston last year.
• Friday’s first match will feature a College of Charleston reunion of sorts. EMU head coach Olson was an assistant coach at CofC while EMU assistant coach Darcy Dorton and UT transfers Mackenzie Cooler and Britney Vallez played there. (Another note of interest: Cooler and Vallez are what has to be a tiny number of Vols to have also played against Tennessee!)

EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES

2-1 // 9/2 @ 2:30pm ET // Cleveland OH // STATS

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS

2-1 // 9/2 @ 7:00pm ET // Cleveland OH // ESPN 3 // STATS

KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES

2-1 // 9/3 @ 6:00pm ET // Kent OH // VIDEO // STATS

With a three set sweep of MTSU, the Vols win their home tournament and go to 3-0 on the year (25-17, 25-18, 25-12). Bri Holmes and Tessa Grubbs had 9 kills each. Holmes hit .389 overall and Grubbs had 3 blocks and 2 aces. Erica Treiber had 7 kills, hit .400, and also put down 4 blocks. Alyssa Andreno led the match in blocks with 6 with Raina Hembry right behind with 5. Sedona Hansen picked up her first career double double with 28 assists and 14 digs. Bridgette Villano dug up 12 balls.

UT held MTSU to the 14th lowest statistical point total and the 20th lowest actual point total in rally scoring era school history.

Treiber was named the tournament MVP, with Tessa Grubbs and Bridgette Villano joining her on the all-tourney team.

Tennessee averaged a .306 hitting percentage for the weekend. Five players with double digit attacks hit over .400 in a match: Hansen hit .400, Kendra Turner hit .462, Treiber hit .550, Andreno hit .667, and Holmes hit .733.

The team put up 26 service aces over three matches. Brooke Schumacher and Grubbs had 4 each. Villano had 5. And Kelsey Bawcombe had 8 — already a third of her team-leading 2015 total.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // MTSU STORY

Tennessee defeated ULM in three sets this afternoon, moving their record to 2-0 as they head into the final match of the Tennessee Volleyball Classic (25-21, 25-12, 25-16). Bri Holmes and Alyssa Andreno led the team in kills with 11 on 15 attacks each. Holmes did so with no errors for an outstanding career high .733 hitting percentage, while Andreno only had 1 error for .667. Kendra Turner also hit a career high with .462 on 6 kills and no errors. Andreno contributed 4 blocks and Raina Hembry and Mackenzie Cooler added in 3 more apiece. Cooler led the squad with 21 assists. Brooke Schumacher had 12 digs. Last year’s team leader in aces, Kelsey Bawcombe put down a career high matching 5 aces vs the Warhawks.

UT only had 5 hitting errors the entire afternoon, the third fewest in a match in the rally scoring era. Their .447 team hitting percentage was the 6th best in a match since 2001 as well.

13 players took to the court for the Vols, but not the same 13 from yesterday. 5 players saw action for the first time in 2016.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // ULM STORY

The Vols started the season off right with a four set win over Cincinnati at the Tennessee Volleyball Classic (25-16, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23). More details soon.

UPDATE: Tennessee put five of the six newcomers to the squad on the court in tonight’s win. Freshman Tessa Grubbs led the team with 14 kills. She also had 7 digs, 6 blocks, and 2 aces. Freshman Sedona Hansen handled most of the setting duties, putting up 39 assists. Eight of the thirteen returners saw action as well. Erica Treiber put down 11 kills on 20 attacks with no errors for a stellar .550 hitting percentage. She also had 7 blocks. Raina Hembrey had 10 kills and 5 blocks. Bridgette Villano had 11 digs and a career high 4 aces.

Tennessee had 17 service errors in the match, the second most in the rally scoring era. The last time they had as many was four years ago — their previous season opener in Knoxville.

Also of interest, this match featured the debut of the new challenge system for disputed calls. The Vols won their first ever challenge.

BOX SCORE // UT STORY // CINCY STORY

• Tennessee has posted notes for this weekend’s matches.
• Be sure to check out the promotional schedule before matches this season. This weekend: admission is $1; after the Cincinnati match you can meet the team; the first 100 fans to the ULM and MTSU matches will get a hot dog and drink voucher.
• PrepVolleyball has made some opening weekend predictions, including their guess that Tennessee will top Cincinnati in four.
• Check out the player profile videos UT has posted so far on YouTube.
• Congrats to Erica Treiber who was named to UT’s VOLeaders Academy Class of 2016-17.
• Don’t forget about the “clear bag policy” for Tennessee sporting events this year.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS

2015: 21-10, 13-7 (3rd American) // 8/26 @ 7:00pm ET // Knoxville TN // SECN+ // STATS

ULM WARHAWKS

2015: 14-18 3-13 (10th Sun Belt) // 8/27 @ 12:00pm ET // Knoxville TN // STATS

MTSU BLUE RAIDERS

2015: 8-22, 6-10 (9th C-USA) // 8/27 @ 7:00pm ET // Knoxville TN // STATS

After starting the season on the road the past three years, the Vols kick things off in Knoxville! The 2016 season begins tomorrow when UT meets Cincinnati in the Tennessee Classic. The next day they’ll face ULM and MTSU.

• Rob Patrick is starting his 20th season as head coach of the Vols. With a really good year he can reach a couple of milestones. He’s 20 wins away from career #400 and 13 away from SEC win #200.
• Since 1978, when complete season records are available, the Vols are 30-8 in season opening matches. In the opening week of the season the team is 83-33. Under Patrick the team is 15-4 in season opening matches and 49-9 in the opening week of the season.
• Coincidentally, Tennessee is also 30-8 in home opening matches and 15-4 under Patrick.
• When the Lady Vols open a season at home they are hard to beat — they’re 11-2 and have only lost once since 1978.
• Tennessee has fared well in August matches, going 40-7 all-time and 16-1 at home.
• The Vols face MTSU on Saturday. Against fellow state schools Tennessee is 136-29-4 all-time. Under Patrick the team is 25-4.
• UT is 6-3 all-time vs Cincinnati. The teams have met only twice in the past quarter-century with Tennessee winning in 2012 and 2013.
• UT is meeting ULM for the first time.
• UT is 14-0 all-time vs MTSU. Tennessee won the first 12 meetings in the minimum number of sets, but in their last two matches in 2001 and 2002, MTSU pushed the Vols to four and five sets.
• Cincinnati was chosen as the American Athletic Conference preseason champion by their league coaches.
• Tennessee is 22-4 vs American Athletic Conference teams, 3-2 vs the Sun Belt Conference, and 9-2 vs Conference USA and since 2001.
• Molly Alvey is very familiar with the Vols having coached against them almost every year since 2005: as the assistant and then associate head coach at Mississippi from 2005-2009, two seasons as head coach at Houston from 2010-2011, and in 2012 and 2013 as head coach of Cincinnati.
• Another face on the Cincinnati coaching staff is even more familiar with Tennessee volleyball. Assistant coach Kayla Jeter has been with the Bearcats for three years. Before that she was an All-American playing in Knoxville from 2008 to 2012. Her sister, Breana Jeter is a Vol redshirt freshman whose first time on the court could be against her sibling’s team.

• In the SEC preseason poll Tennessee is projected to finish 9th according to the league coaches. Texas A&M is the favorite to repeat as conference champion, followed by Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri. This marks just the third time since 1994 that Florida has not been the coaches first choice, and the first time in that timeframe that someone other than Florida or Tennessee was the top pick.
• Tennessee continues to post player profile videos. Since last time they’ve added Breana Jeter and Courtney Mueller.
• The stat pages are up-to-date. Check out the new page for UT All-Americans and the updated instate players page which now goes all the way back to the 1970s!
• ESPN has a dedicated page for volleyball now, and two pieces about the coming season. First is their annual five questions article which features a query about the SEC; then their top 12 players to watch, which includes two that Tennessee will face off against.
• ESPN has also announced their expanded coverage of NCAA volleyball this season along with their lineup of commentators — many of whom have an SEC connection: Courtney Lyle – “previously called games on SEC Network + for the University of Tennessee”; Laura Bush – “former Auburn head coach and Minnesota associate head coach”; Jenny Hazlewood – “former Mississippi State head coach”; Maria Taylor – “three-time All-SEC at Georgia”; Missy Whittemore – “three-time Academic All-American at Florida”.
• The newly launched online only Volleyball Magazine has a preview of the SEC season.
• Volleyball Magazine has also started a new poll for schools outside the Power Five conferences. UT opponent Xavier comes in at #24 in the inaugural ranking.

Coach Rob Patrick and players Brooke Schumacher and Tessa Grubbs answered questions about the upcoming season at a press conference this afternoon. Check them out below:

Congratulations to former Vol Kelsey Robinson, who became one of only 51 women in Team USA history to win an Olympic (indoor) volleyball medal! Check out the American set points in the video below.

pic.twitter.com/RCPaX1FLJ6

— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) August 20, 2016

#USAVwnt gets #Rio2016 #bronze with Hill scoring 19, @fakinradewo 16 in win over #NED. https://t.co/3VL9hBgEO6 pic.twitter.com/hIiIT6IfDM

— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) August 21, 2016

#USAVwnt presented their #Rio2016 #Olympics bronze medals. #USAVolley2016 #allin pic.twitter.com/WWPyrEr1Sh

— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) August 21, 2016