Lady Vols Earn Second SEC Win over Missouri

Friday, September 28

Knoxville

6:30 pm

University of Tennessee

11-4 (2-1SEC)

Missouri

12-3 (2-1SEC)

Missouri

Tennessee

September 28, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Postgame Highlights Postgame Interview

Tennessee hands the Tigers their first loss in SEC play, winning in five sets

By: Seth Raborn

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee volleyball team notched its first home SEC win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Missouri Tigers.

It took the Lady Volunteers all five sets to finish off the Tigers, as Tennessee held Missouri to under a .200 hitting percentage in the match.

After a convincing 25-18 win in the third set for the Lady Vols, the Tigers would take the closely contested fourth frame.

Tennessee responded in the final set by setting its highest hitting percentage of the night (.438 percent) and holding Missouri to a .048 hitting percentage.

Erica Treiber, Tessa Grubbs and Lily Felts all recorded double-digit kills for the Lady Vols, as Treiber finished with a career-high-tying 19 kills and a season-high .600 kill percentage, leading the team in both categories.

Junior Sedona Hansen finished with a team-high 28 assists, as she became the ninth player in Lady Vols history to reach 2,000 assists in a career. Hansen also registered her 40th career double-double (13 digs and 29 assists) and her eighth of the season.

Tennessee held Missouri to under a .200 hitting percentage, including forcing the Tigers to a sub-100 hitting percentage in sets one and five. This is just the second time this year Missouri has been held under the .200 mark.

The Lady Vols finished with a .256 hitting percentage becoming just the third team this season to hit .250 or better on the Tigers this season.

From Coach Rackham:
On the magnitude of the win:
"Every win is big in the SEC. You have to your home court and we were able to come back after letting that fourth set slip away a little. I'm proud of the team for responding. It's something that we have worked on for two weeks, playing in a fifth set. In some ways, I'm glad we got the chance to prove that." -- Coach Eve Rackham

From Sedona Hansen:
On reaching 2,000 assists in her career:
"It is exciting. I didn't realize that it is such a huge marker. To be able to get 2,000 assists here tonight is really cool." -- Sedona Hansen

On the difference in tonight's match:
"We made a lot more plays than we have in five-set games in the past. We came out with a different type of urgency to win tonight." -- Sedona Hansen

Standout Stat:

Tennessee held Missouri to a .199 hitting percentage, marking the 10th match that the Lady Vols have held opponents under the .200 mark this season. Tennessee is 9-1 in games when holding teams under a .200 hitting percentage. Through three matches, the Lady Vols have held every SEC opponent under the .200 hitting mark.

Match Notables:

Sedona Hansen became the ninth player in Tennessee volleyball history to record 2,000 assists. Her milestone assist came in the third set when she assisted Erica Treiber to make it 18-13 in favor of the Lady Vols.
Tessa Grubbs has now recorded double-digit kills in seven straight matches. Grubbs now has over 10 kills in 13 of her 15 matches.
Lily Felts notched her first collegiate double-double totaling 15 kills and 12 digs in the five-set victory.

Next Up:
Tennessee will play its third game of its five game homestand against the SEC foe Arkansas Razorbacks. The Lady Vols will look to pick up its eighth home win of the year against Arkansas on Sunday in Thompson-Boling Arena.

First serve for Sunday's match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network+.