Tennessee volleyball coach ready to chalk up loss to Kentucky as 'just a bad day'

Tennessee volleyball dropped its second game of the season when it got swept by Kentucky on Sunday, but coach Eve Rackham Watt isn't going to make it deeper than it is.

Her team played poorly and the players know it. After sweeping No. 23 Kentucky on the road in September, the No. 10 Lady Vols were on their heels and couldn't swing the momentum their way in the 3-0 loss at home.

"We're way too good to get swept," Rackham Watt told her team after the loss. "I don't really know if this match means anything more than it's just a bad day. I won't know that until Friday when we play somebody else. But I'm not trying to look too much into it, just because of the way we played."

Kentucky (8-7, 6-1 SEC) topped Tennessee (16-2, 7-1) in every statistical category, and the Lady Vols couldn't get in their usual rhythm. It didn't help that Kentucky had star outside hitter Reagan Rutherford back and Tennessee had a quick turnaround from the 3-1 win over No. 22 Auburn on Friday.

The one thing Rackham Watt was pleased with was the energy. The team was in every set and forced extra points in the last two sets.

Tennessee still sits atop the SEC standings and has an opportunity to boost its NCAA seeding and keep itself in position to win the conference. The Lady Vols play No. 12 Arkansas (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) Friday at home.

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Graduate outside hitter Morgahn Fingall isn't looking too deep into the loss, either. Fingall, who led the team with 16 kills and two blocks, has her eyes on the team's bigger goal.

"Our goal for the season wasn't to beat Kentucky the second time we played them, it's to make it far into the NCAA (tournament)," she said. "So just taking in the bigger picture, but also coming back to the daily work will be really important and I think they'll do just that."

Tennessee's only other loss this season is to No. 1 Wisconsin, which it took to five sets on the road. Rackham Watt expects her team to respond well in practice this week before another SEC challenge.

"This team is not going to hang their heads," she said. "We're a confident group and we know we're a good team. We just didn't have a good day."

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.