OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee's win over North Carolina on Sunday meant more than just another step towards the College World Series finals.

The Vols' 6-1 victory at Charles Schwab Field ensured two days off, which couldn't have come at a better time for the No. 1 overall seed, who will face 8-seed Florida State for a spot in the championship series on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

The off days have provided much-needed rest for Tennessee's pitching staff and elsewhere in the field, especially Hunter Ensley.

The center fielder barreled into the wall at full speed to finish a catch that robbed the Tar Heels of a hit in the second inning. He returned for the third and fourth innings but did not play the fifth as Colby Backus replaced him and played the rest of the way.

Ensley practiced with the team at Creighton University Tuesday.

"A little bit of a easy answer being day to day, definitely better today than (Ensley) was on Monday," Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. "It was good for the guys to earn a day of rest...And he was involved in everything, but you know, I don't know if he could have gone full speed, but he was cautioned to not go full speed through everything. So he did everything that our guys did. Just not as much as he might normally do."

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Tony Vitello said ahead of Vols' College World Series Game 11

As for Ensley's status for Wednesday against the Seminoles, Tennessee has options it can turn to if he is unable to play.

Among them is Colby Backus, who has appeared in 28 games in the outfield this season, including five innings vs. North Carolina. Backus flashed his defensive abilities with two critical catches in the Vols' series win over Kentucky in April.

But Vitello is mulling over other options, including shuffling the outfield by moving All-SEC outfielder Kavares Tears over from right or Dylan Dreiling from left.

Even second baseman Christian Moore has offered his services to move into the outfield, though Vitello hasn't considered that move as much because of his value to Tennessee's infield.

"(We have confidence in) Kavares Tears, Reese (Chapman)," Vitello said. "(Colby) Backus has shown in Lexington, the ground he covered and running into the wall was shades of what Ensley's capable of doing and Dylan (Dreiling) has been out there, which Dylan has been really good for us in the left field, but he's been out there. I trust Christian Moore at a very high level on the infield, so while he'd like to be out there to show his athleticism and it's fun for him to run around, I think we trust him on the infield too much."

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: How Hunter Ensley set the tone in Tennessee College World Series victory

Tennessee needs to beat Florida State just once to get another two days off before playing in Game 1 of the finals on Saturday, providing more rest for a team playing at a point in the season where it is a premium.

Ensley could benefit from that, too if the Vols need to turn elsewhere in center field for one game.

"I feel good. Just a little minor, I guess injury to the lower half right now, but you know, two days off is really gonna help," Ensley said last Sunday. "That's a big time win for that reason...it for sure helps."

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.

–––––