Lady Vols Drop Four-Set Match at No. 25 Missouri

Sunday, October 20

Columbia, MO

3 PM

University of Tennessee

9-9 (3-5SEC)

Missouri

12-4 (4-2SEC)

Tennessee

Mizzou

October 20, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

Senior outside hitter Tessa Grubbs finished with a match-high 20 kills in the loss to the nationally-ranked Tigers

By: Andy Kovar

COLUMBIA, Missouri – The University of Tennessee volleyball team fell to No. 25 Missouri in four sets (14-25, 16-25, 25-18, 14-25) on Sunday afternoon in Hearnes Arena.

The loss snaps a three-match winning streak the Lady Vols (9-9, 3-5 SEC) had over the Tigers (12-5, 4-2 SEC) in the series.

After having her first single-digit kill match of the season on Wednesday, senior outside hitter Tessa Grubbs ended Sunday with a match-high 20 kills while having a team-best .436 hitting percentage on 39 swings. She was the only Lady Vol player to finish with double-figure kills.

After dropping the opening two frames of the match, Tennessee responded in the third, hitting .552 percent, the highest in a single set during conference play.

With sophomore Danielle Mahaffey moving to middle blocker, the Lady Vols were able to generate offense all across the front row. Mahaffey and Grubbs tallied five kills apiece in the set while freshman right side Morgahn Fingall added three.

It was the first time in her collegiate career Mahaffey has played middle blocker.

For the first time in fourth matches, sophomore outside hitter Lily Felts was held to single-digit kills. Felts ended the match with three kills while tallying nine digs and an ace in the six-rotation outside roll.

Senior setter Sedona Hansen helped guide the offense to 48 kills in the match as she posted a team-high 30 assists with four digs and an ace.

Standout Stat

With 20 kills in the match on Sunday afternoon, Tessa Grubbs needs just 84 more kills this season to enter the top 10 in program history in career kills.

Match Notables:

Kailey Keeble earned her third consecutive start of the season, posting 10 assists to go along with six digs
For the the fourth time this season and the 16th time in her career, Tessa Grubbs finished a match with 20-plus kills
Over the last two matches, Morgahn Fingall has recorded seven blocks (1.00 blocks/set) including three total blocks Sunday

Next Up
The Lady Vols face their third consecutive team who made the 2018 NCAA Tournament when they travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Friday. Last season, Tennessee dispatched South Carolina in three sets in Thompson-Boling Arena.

First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Carolina Volleyball Center. The match will also air on SEC Network+.