Tennessee set out to bolster its postseason positioning in its final softball series of the regular season.
Mission accomplished.
The No. 7 Lady Volunteers took two of three games at No. 24 Mississippi State over the weekend. The good showing in Starkville was capped by Sunday's 6-3 win that clinched a bye in this week's Southeastern Conference tournament in Columbia, Mo.
The tourney opener for fourth-seeded Tennessee (44-11, 14-10) is at 5 EDT Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between No. 12 seed Ole Miss and No. 5 seed LSU.
Chelsea Seggern hit a three-run home run in Sunday's rubber game against Mississippi State (35-20, 7-17) as the Lady Vols jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and held on behind a complete game from Caylan Arnold (23-4).
Arnold was also the winning pitcher in the Lady Vols' 7-4 victory Friday.
Reserve pitchers Ashley Morgan and Gabby Sprang toed the rubber for Tennessee in a 10-3 loss Saturday. Sprang took the loss as the Lady Vols played several reserves.
The series victory should keep Tennessee in contention for a top-eight seed in the NCAA postseason, which begins May 18. Teams seeded eighth or better are in position to host super regionals, should they advance.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.