We Speak Sports
No. 9 Tennessee Stuns No. 4 Kentucky With Reverse Sweep in Knoxville
Down two sets, Tennessee stormed back to beat Kentucky in five for the program’s first win over a top-five opponent in 21 years.
Tennessee pulled off one of the biggest wins in program history on Wednesday night, rallying from two sets down to stun No. 4 Kentucky 17-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-10 at Food City Center in Knoxville.
Kentucky controlled the first two sets, hitting better than .450 in the early going, but the Lady Vols flipped the match completely. Tennessee hit .429 across the fourth and fifth sets while Kentucky managed just one block over the final two frames.
Sutton was sensational with 14 kills and zero errors on .583 hitting, plus five digs and two blocks. The production was balanced behind her: Rogers finished with 13 kills and 14 digs, Stout added 13 kills and 10 digs, and setter Kerr stuffed the stat sheet with 46 assists, 10 digs and six kills. Perry chipped in a career-high six kills.
Brooklyn DeLeye led Kentucky with 25 kills on .321 hitting, with Thigpen adding 12 and Morgan Gaerte 11, but it was not enough. Tennessee improved to 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, while Kentucky fell to 15-4 and 7-2, dropping out of first place in the league.
It is Tennessee’s first victory over a top-five opponent in 21 years and the biggest win of the Eve Rackham Watt era. Kentucky, which had won 12 of the previous 13 meetings, was reverse-swept for the first time this season and only the second time since 2017. The Wildcats do not get long to regroup: they host No. 19 Texas A&M on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ABC in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title match.
Photo: Luke Goins / The Daily Beacon, via WUTK
We Speak Flag Football
Alabama Runs Deep: Undefeated Moody, Central and Montgomery Catholic All Sit in the National Top 15
If you want to find the center of the high school flag football universe, check Alabama. Three Alabama programs sit in the USA TODAY Super 25 national rankings — and the state’s No. 2 team hasn’t lost in 30 games.
Moody (17-0) is the streak story of the fall. The defending AHSAA Class 1A-5A champions picked up their 30th consecutive win this week, are ranked No. 7 in the Super 25 and No. 8 in the MaxPreps national rankings, and recently outscored three opponents 146-0 in a single week. Sophomore Sophie White put up 472 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns in one doubleheader. The Blue Devils’ title DNA is real: last December at Protective Stadium, quarterback Serenity Rutledge threw three touchdown passes — to Zoey Terry, White and Kennedy Hockman — and Cheyenne Moore returned an interception 48 yards for a score in a 27-18 final win over Montgomery Catholic.
Central of Phenix City (11-2) is Alabama’s No. 1 and the nation’s No. 5, powered by Savannah Sevier, who recently stacked 301 yards, four touchdowns, six flag pulls and four pass breakups in a single week. Montgomery Catholic (12-1), ranked No. 15 nationally, is right back in the hunt behind senior Hayden Fitts, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another against Spain Park.
With Spain Park, Vestavia Hills, Boaz and Brewbaker Tech also ranked in the state Super 10, Alabama’s playoffs this winter might be the toughest tournament in the country.
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