Why Eve Rackham Watt believes Tennessee volleyball can make deep NCAA Tournament run

Tennessee volleyball is going into the NCAA Tournament with the highest overall national seed in program history, a fact that surprised coach Eve Rackham Watt when she heard it.

Not because she didn't think Tennessee was capable, but because it wasn't something the Lady Vols set out to do this season. The No. 3 seed Lady Vols  (24-4) are the No. 10 seed, and they didn't even go into the 2023 season ranked. They'll host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, starting with Big South champion High Point (23-7) on Friday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

"I was actually just saying to my staff like, 'Wow, this is great. We put ourselves in a really good position,' " Rackham Watt said Wednesday. "It wasn't something that we started the season going, let's host, let's be one of the top 16 (teams). It was about playing our best volleyball and we thought this team had a good chance to be really successful."

That chance to be really successful turned into one of Tennessee's best regular seasons in program history.

The Lady Vols ended the season ranked No. 8, which is the highest regular-season ranking in program history. The top-10 ranking was UT's first since 2005. Tennessee logged 17 sweeps this season, 10 of which were in SEC play en route to a second-place finish.

Tennessee is playing in its third straight NCAA Tournament under Rackham Watt. UT will also host the first round matchup between No. 6 seed Western Kentucky (29-4) and Coastal Carolina (22-9) on Friday (4:30 p.m.). If Tennessee wins, it will play the winner in the second round on Saturday (6 p.m.). Stanford (26-3) is the No. 1 seed in Tennessee's bracket.

Tennessee hasn't advanced past the second round under Rackham Watt in her six seasons.

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However, Rackham Watt is encouraged about the Lady Vols' potential in the postseason and uses a five-set thriller in a road loss to then-No. 1 Wisconsin on Sept. 3 as an example.

"This is a really, really tough group," Rackham Watt said. "We've been down in sets or we've had to call a timeout, and they've always seemed to respond appropriately and find ways to be successful. So I think you need that, you're going to be tested. You're going to be challenged in the tournament, everybody you play is good, everybody's season is on the line. So I think the ability to go in with a mental toughness of knowing what needs to happen will serve us well."

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.