Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield spoke to the media in the postgame after the Vols 79-51 home win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden spoke to the media in the postgame after the Vols 79-51 home win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee baseball program is embarking on its first major stadium project since 2010 with the conversion of Lindsey Nelson Stadium’s grass field to artificial turf.

The project will not only help the Vols’ baseball program but the community as a whole, with the City of Knoxville and the surrounding community both set to benefit from the new field.

Tennessee will now be able to host a series of tournaments that will positively affect commerce, bringing more people to campus and Knoxville. Additionally, the ability to host camps without compromising the playing field will allow the staff to form closer relationships with the baseball community and others around the state of Tennessee. More community service activities and alumni events will now be able to take place on the field as well.

“We’re committed to maintaining first-class facilities at Tennessee, and this project gets us off to a great start at Lindsey Nelson Stadium,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “We made this decision with player development in mind. Converting the field from natural grass to an artificial surface gives (head coach Tony) Vitello and his staff more flexibility in terms of when they can practice and how they can practice.

“It also expands the calendar in terms of scheduling games and camps. Getting greater, year-round use from the facility was also something we desired. We expect this new surface to open up new opportunities for youth baseball events, community service and beyond, strengthening the Knoxville community’s bond with Lindsey Nelson Stadium and Tennessee Baseball.”

Carolina Green is currently performing the work on Robert M. Lindsay Field. The 126,000 square-foot surface that will be installed is a product of FieldTurf, which is the industry leader in artificial turf. FieldTurf’s primary manufacturing facility is located in nearby Calhoun, Georgia.

“The field is at the centerpiece of this 2018-19 project,” Vitello said. “But upgrades and work will also be done on the home bullpen area, our batting cages and the players’ locker room.”

Over the last year, the team clubhouse and weight room saw updates as well.

“I consider myself a traditionalist, but player development and building a winning program is more important than any personal preference. All evidence points to this surface being a key component of accomplishing those two major goals.”

“Coach Fulmer has spent a great deal of time and energy in an effort to make sure every sport here at UT is seen as important and takes winning championships very seriously,” Vitello said. “Our student-athletes are incredibly fortunate to immediately benefit from these actions that support that philosophy. Our administration’s belief in our staff and our program prior to seeing results will be something that will go a long way for us.”

The playing surface and facility upgrades are scheduled to be completed prior to the Vols’ season opener versus Appalachian State on Feb. 15, 2019.

-UT Athletics

PULLMAN, Wash. — No. 19 University of Tennessee advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after coming from two sets down to defeat Colorado State in five sets.

This marks the 10th time in program history the Lady Vols(26-5, 16-2 Southeastern Conference) have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the first time since the 2011 season.

Led by a career-high 19 kills and 15 digs from freshman Lily Felts, the Lady Vols completed the comeback over the Rams (23-8, 15-3 Mountain West Conference), winning the decisive fifth set 15-12. Senior Erica Treiber closed out the match with her fourth kill of the final frame as she tucked it just inside of the sideline.

With Tennessee down 5-4 in the fifth set, sophomore Callie Williams stepped up to the service line and aced Colorado State to tie it. With Williams serving, the Lady Vols went on a 4-0 run to take a 8-5 lead into the switch.

Colorado State would come back to tie the fifth at 11-11. Tennessee turned to All-Southeastern Conference selection Erica Treiber to help close out the match. The Unionville, Mich. native deposited an over pass to the floor to put the Lady Vols up for good. After a timeout from coach Tyler Adams, they set the senior who found space just inside the sideline to seal the come-from-behind victory.

In the final three frames, Felts had 12 of her team-high 19 kills which included seven in the fourth set alone. This was the fourth double-double of the season for the Knoxville, Tenn. native and the 11th double-digit kill match for the All-SEC Freshman Team selection.

After dropping the first two sets, Tennessee jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the third frame with Felts on the service line. Six Lady Vols had multiple kills in the set as they never trailed in the third, winning 25-18 on a kill from freshman Danielle Mahaffey.

After back-to-back kills from junior Tessa Grubbs gave Tennessee an early 7-5 edge in the fourth set, UT held onto the lead from that point stretching it out to as much as a seven-point advantage before Grubbs sixth kill of the set. She would finish the match with 18 kills, marking the 11th time this season she has contributed 18 or more kills in a match.

From Coach Adams:
On what was talked about in between sets two and three:
“I didn’t say much. We have had our backs up against the wall a lot this year. We have had a lot of five-set matches and a lot of close matches that didn’t even go to five. We’ve had our backs against the wall and this group has always found a way to respond. I told them we have been here before and we know how to get ourselves out of it.” — Coach Adams

On shot selection improvement throughout the match:
“I thought Colorado State did a great job. They had us scouted very well. The definitely took away a lot of what we wanted to do to start. We made a lineup change where we put Rocky (Perinar) on the right. The setters did a really good job of spreading it around after that.” — Coach Adams

On when the focus turns to round two:
“We have talked a lot about this all year, relishing the success and not overlooking it. As soon as we know who the winner is, we will start thinking about them.” — Coach Adams

From Erica Treiber and Lily Felts:
On communication improving throughout:
“Communication is a huge part of volleyball. The more we got comfortable, the more we knew the plan for the game and the more we communicated. It definitely helped us a lot defensively.” — Erica Treiber

On in the situation to have to comeback before this year:
“Being down 2-0, we knew that we needed to fight back. As a team, we really went out there and all bought in. We went out there and worked hard. We got kills and points from all parts of our game tonight.” — Erica Treiber

On laying the foundation for the program in years to come:
“This year has been a great start to the future of Tennessee volleyball. This run that we are on right now is only a testament to where we are going to go in the future.” — Erica Treiber

On new career high in kills and digs:
“I think a lot of it has to do with the team that is around me. Obviously I can’t get those kills without our defense and our passing. I think it is a lot easier to get digs like that when you are playing behind a great block. I have to give a lot of credit to my team.” — Lily Felts

Standout Stat

• With the win, Tennessee moves to 14-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, advancing the its 10th NCAA Second Round in program history. The Lady Vols also take a 3-2 edge in the all-time series vs. Colorado State, winning the last two matches over the Rams.

Match Notables:

• Madison Coulter set a new career-high with 29 digs in the match including 10 in set four which is the most she has had in a single set in her two-year Lady Vols career.
• This is the second consecutive match Tennessee finished the match with double-digit team blocks. The Lady Vols tallied 11.0 in the match led by six blocks assists from Erica Treiber. With those six blocks, Treiber now becomes the fourth player in program history to reach 500-plus blocks in a career. The senior now had 502 in four seasons.
• Addisyn Rowe set a new career high with a .786 hitting percentage as she tallied 12 kills on 14 swings with just one error in the match.

Next Up:
The Lady Vols advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will play again tomorrow night. They will take on tournament site host Washington State on Saturday evening. The Cougars swept Northern Arizona in their first round match.

The match will stream on PAC-12 Network with the broadcast scheduled for 9:00 p.m. (ET).

-UT Athletics