Anni Tang is growing up fast for Tennessee volleyball

Tennessee volleyball head coach Eve Rackham Watt has a loaded roster. As the year has gone on, so has the growth of her young talent. With each match, you know who the main players are before the first serve. Caroline Kerr, Kennedi Rogers, Jalyn Stout and even Chelsea Sutton are often the first players people think about.

Throughout the year, I’ve paid close attention to freshman Anni Tang. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker from Sydney, Australia, is currently third on the team with 47 blocks and has chipped in 59 kills with a .338 hitting percentage. Over the last two matches, Tang posted seven kills with a .538 hitting percentage against Missouri and eight kills with five blocks and a .429 percentage in the sweep of Mississippi State.

Her contributions are becoming more in the fabric of Tennessee’s sets, and so is the confidence she plays with. Tang knows where she is and what she is supposed to do, and she has great chemistry with the teammates around her.

After Friday night’s match, I asked Rackham Watt about Tang’s growth throughout this season.

“She’s had kind of this learner’s mentality ever since she got to us,” Rackham Watt said. “So she wants to be great and she comes to practice every day, is so coachable, you know, has really trusted in our staff and she’s super mindful about her reps every day. And you can just see the confidence growing in her.”

KNOXVILLE, TN - November 06, 2026 - Middle blocker Anni Tang #17 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. | Photo By Drew Garrison/Tennessee Athletics

No. 10 Tennessee swept Mississippi State 25-20, 25-14, 29-27, and the Bulldogs came to Food City Center on a four-match winning streak. Tang was effective at the net and in the attack. Rackham Watt said her staff saw a matchup it liked, and Kerr kept going back to it.

“I think the confidence growing in Caroline to be able to get her the ball, there was more of that,” Rackham Watt said. “And I think tonight, you know, she had kind of a physical mismatch, you know, and so we, I think, took advantage of that.

“And I think once she kind of got rolling, could see that her confidence was starting to grow and it affected, you know, whether the attacking affected her blocking or the blocking affected her attacking, you know, one side of the game, I think, really bled into the other. And so she was super effective, you know.”

Tennessee played both road matches last weekend without Sutton, who was injured in the home win over Vanderbilt the week before. The Lady Vols lost 3-1 at Texas A&M and 3-2 at Missouri, but Tang still hit .538 in Columbia. With Sutton back in the lineup Friday, Rackham Watt said the veteran’s experience is rubbing off on the freshmen behind her.

“All this experience is so great for our freshman middle blockers,” Rackham Watt said. “They’re getting better. I think you saw it tonight with Anni, just, you know, how much better they’re continuing to improve every weekend. So it’s been great for them, but you know, you don’t have a lot of time to grow up, and so they’re living that right now.”

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Tang on fire

S2: Lady Vols 9, Mississippi St. 6.
tune in here » https://t.co/BuGD6T3g5q pic.twitter.com/dQ1d2f5pMT
— Tennessee Volleyball (@Vol_VBall) November 7, 2026

Rackham Watt spoke to how the staff has given Tang some hard coaching at times this season. It’s clear that they see the potential in Tang, and she wants to be the best herself.

“She’s been able to take a lot of coaching, some hard coaching,” Rackham Watt said. “You know, she’s had moments this year where I know she’s been frustrated, but it’s because she wants to be really, really good. And, you know, we’re asking her to do a lot. All of those freshmen we’re asking to do a lot. But I think just the experience Anni’s been able to get on the floor, certainly recently, is paying off.”

Kerr, who had 34 assists Friday, said one of the first things she told the team this season was to stop treating a big freshman class as a weakness. She called it the most talented freshman group she has been part of.

“Anni’s no different,” Kerr said. “And I think it’s great having what Anni can bring. She brings physicality. And so when she’s on like that, nobody can stop her because she physically can beat you. And so, yeah, I believe in every single person we have on this team. And so whatever lineup is out there, we’re going to be good.

“And then how we all balance maybe the lack of experience, despite their high level of talent, is I can help them through those moments and just let them know what to do when things get tight. So I try to give them my experience while letting their talent shine, for sure.”

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