Kiki Milloy couldn't get a read on Karen Weekly.

The Woodinville, Washington standout was on a visit to Knoxville in 2018 when she met Tennessee softball head coaching duo Ralph and Karen Weekly.

Ralph made a compelling recruiting pitch, but Milloy got the impression that Karen didn't like her and it made her hesitant to commit to the Lady Vols.

Four years later, the two are heading to the Women's College World Series—Tennessee's first appearance since 2015.

"Kiki and I are a lot alike," Weekly said. "Neither of us smile a whole lot and we're pretty just straight forward and kind of stoic and Ralph is the complete opposite. He's the salesman in the family. I remember later that her mom said, 'Kiki thought you didn't like her' and that kind of made her a little leary at first but she ended up picking Tennessee. I've probably never been closer to a player."

"(Weekly) pretty much said it," Milloy added. "Ralph told me, 'I've never lost a recruit,' and I was like, 'Well I can't be the first. I guess I'm going to Tennessee."

Weekly and Milloy's bond has been key in Tennessee's success. The Lady Vols won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles and dominated both the regional and super regionals to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City.

On the field, Milloy has been masterful. She leads the team in hitting with 25 home runs, 56 RBI and a .420 batting average.

Defensively in the outfield, she has provided another edge which she displayed in Game 1 of the super regional with an over the shoulder catch that robbed Texas of a base runner and help preserve a 5-2 win.

Against the Longhorns on Saturday, Milloy was the tone-setter, ripping a double to the wall in center field and reaching third on an error. She scored on the following at-bat en route to a 9-0 victory that clinched a WCWS berth.

Milloy's last game of the 2023 season at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium ended in jubilation, a final strikeout from Payton Gottshall and a emptied dugout to extend a season full of successes. But Milloy has also been a part of heartbreak finishes there.

In each of the last two seasons, Tennessee exited the NCAA Tournament with losses in its own regional. Milloy knew there was only one way the Lady Vols' final game on their home turf was going to end this time around.

"It's kind of surreal to be honest with you," Milloy said. "Again, still just trying to soak it all in and live it all up because it's obviously so recent, but I just knew going into regionals and going into super regionals, I knew that we were doing it, like we were making it.

"Doesn't really matter what needs to happen to do it, but I knew this team was going to get after it and win these games."

Weekly knew it, too.

"They're a player-led team," Weekly said. "This young lady next to me, I don't know that I'll ever be around another leader better than Kiki Milloy. The way Kiki and the leaders on our team have joined together to lead this team in such an incredible way, it's a player-led team. I know one of the things that Pat (Summitt) always said too was, 'You only win championships when the players are the ones doing the leading.' That's what we have. It's been so special to watch it evolve."

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