No. 25 Lady Vols Defeat Texas A&M for 20th Win

Sunday, November 4

Knoxville

5 pm

University of Tennessee

20-5 (11-2SEC)

Texas A&M

13-12 (6-7SEC)

Texas A&M

Tennessee

November 04, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Highlights

Nationally-ranked Tennessee has now won six in a row ans improve to 12-1 in Thompson-Boling Arena

By: Andy Kovar

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 25 University of Tennessee volleyball team picked up its 20th win of the season against Texas A&M on Sunday night.

This is the 23rd time in program history the Lady Vols (20-5, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) have had a 20-win season as a SEC best 12 wins have come at home this season.

Junior Tessa Grubbs led the way with a game-high 18 kills including the match clincher over the Aggies (13-12, 6-7 SEC) at 25-19 in the fourth set. She finished the night hitting .361 in the match as she was one of four players who hit .300 or higher (minimum 10 total attacks).

Tennessee was able to limit the attack of Texas A&M's Hollann Hans, the SEC leader in points per set, in the first two sets. Hans managed just four kills on 18 swings (.111 hitting percentage), helping the Lady Vols jump out to a 2-0 set lead in the match.

Setters Sedona Hansen and Callie Williams were able to spread the ball around early as six different hitter found the kill column in addition Hansen and Williams each found the floor twice in the match.

After the Aggies took the third set, Tennessee looked to close out the match in the four set. With the set tied at 13-13, three kills from freshman Danielle Mahaffey helped spark a 6-0 Lady Vol run to make it 19-13. Grubbs helped to close it out as Williams was able to find her off of the free ball for her 18th kill of the night, taking the final set 25-19.

On the night, the Lady Vols finished with a .358 hitting percentage which was the second-highest mark in conference play and fourth highest on the season.

From Coach Rackham:
On winning six in a row:
"To be honest, I had no idea. I know that we are always looking ahead. It's not always the fun part but, it's the hard part -- you only get to enjoy the victories for so long and then it's on to the next game. This team has bought into the single match mentality and understanding the next match is the most important one." Coach Eve Rackham

On Brooke Schumacher:
"Brooke is a veteran libero. She has a lot of experience in the position. We decided to make the switch tonight. She's worked her way into the lineup and she has played as a defensive specialist and played really well. Tonight, I thought she played great." – Coach Eve Rackham

On Tessa Grubbs:
"She's been terrific. She takes so many swings. I feel like she is getting better and better, stronger and more confident. I'm proud of her because she has worked so hard on her game and has taken feedback. Her range as an attacker has come a long way especially from the spring when we started. She's bought into the idea that she can become an even better offensive player. I think it's showing in what she's doing." Coach Eve Rackham

From Tessa Grubbs:
On the second time playing Texas A&M :
"Coming into this matchup, we did a lot more scouting on Hollann Hans on the outside. I think we came in a little more fired up because we are ranked No. 25 right now. We were beyond excited to get that. To have players recognized this week was great. It was one of those things where we needed to go out and show our dominance because we know we have a target on our back now." – Tessa Grubbs

On focus in the month of November:
"One of the things that we talked about is that October is the month that is a make or break for your season. In November, we are currently talking about finishing the season strong and that we have to prepare for the postseason." – Tessa Grubbs

On what has been working offensively in the last six matches:
"Our setters have been putting up great balls. They have been putting us in one-on-one situations. The middles have been holding their middles every time which is helping. And then you have Brooke (Schumacher), Madison (Coulter) and Asha (Phillips) all in the back row and they are giving us call shots which helps a lot. Sometimes the ball is coming quick and we can't see it all the time." – Tessa Grubbs

Standout Stat:

Junior Tessa Grubbs had 18 kills on the night and keeps her pace of 5.15 kills per set in the last three matches. That stretch helped her move to over 4.00 kills per set where she is currently at the 4.07 clip which puts her in sixth place in conference.

Match Notables:

Of the five players who had 10 or more swings, four finished with a hitting percentage of .350 or better with middles Erica Treiber and Addisyn Rowe both hitting over .400 on the night.
Brooke Schumacher moved into sixth on the all-time digs list with a team-high 12 on the night. She is now just 15 away from entering the top five in program history as she currently stands with 1,323 in her four-year career.
Lily Felts finished with 10 kills on the night making it her 10th match with double-digit kills on the season. This is the seven time in conference play the freshman has finished in double figures.
With her fourth consecutive .400-plus hitting percentage match, Erica Treiber is now hitting .402 on the season which is second-best in the conference. Her .358 career hitting percentage ranks her just behind Beverly Robinson (.359 percent) for tops in program history and top 15 in the nation in active career leaders.

Next Up:
Tennessee will start on a three game road-trip against Mississippi State next Sunday afternoon. The Lady Vols defeated the Bulldogs in straight sets earlier this season in Knoxville. The Bulldogs currently sit at 1-11 in Southeastern Conference play and fourteenth in conference standings.

The match will air on SEC Network+ with the first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (ET) in Starkville, Miss.