University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
7-6
Auburn
6-8
Lady Vols Grab Straight-Set Win at Auburn
October 06, 2019 | Volleyball
Tennessee captures its first sweep at Auburn since 2000 to help them to it first conference road win
AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Tennessee volleyball team captured its first road victory in conference play in straight-set fashion (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) Sunday afternoon against Auburn.
The Lady Vols (8-6, 2-2 SEC) were able to stifle the Tigers' (6-9, 0-4 SEC) offensive attack, holding them to just a .092 hitting percentage in the match. This is the lowest hitting percentage for any Tennessee opponent in conference play.
Auburn didn't have a hitting percentage higher than a .179 in a single set while having single-digit kills in the final two sets of the match. The Tigers managed just 30 kills in the match with is their third lowest total of the season.
Senior setter Sedona Hansen crossed her third career milestone in the weekend. With her fifth assist in the first set, Hansen became just the fifth member of the 3,000-assist club. She is just the fourth player in program history to record 3,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs in program history.
The milestone assist gave Tennessee set point in the opening set at 24-19 when she set up fellow senior Tessa Grubbs.
Grubbs finished the match with a match-high 12 kills and she has now had double-digit kills in every match this season. Hansen tallied a team-high 18 assists in the three-set victory.
Nearly four Tennessee players finished with double-figure kills as sophomore Lily Felts tallied nine while freshman Morgahn Fingall and sophomore Danielle Mahaffey had eight a piece.
In her first start in conference play, junior Addisyn Rowe led the Lady Vols with five block assists to go along with a pair of kills.
From Coach Rackham:
On double-digit blocks in the last three matches:
"Morgan Fingall has started to figure some stuff out as a right side blocker. She's just got a little bit more disciplined in her eyes in what she's seeing has really helped her. Tessa Grubbs is starting to pick some better spots as a blocker and has understood her timing a little bit more. Those two have added to our teams block. Our middle our middle blockers Alyssa, Addi and Ava have been doing a really nice job directing traffic and letting people know up there and what their responsibilities are."-- Coach Eve Rackham
On getting the road sweep over Auburn:
"The biggest thing for this group is being able to get a win on the road. Now that we get the monkey off our back, we are feeling like this is something we can do. I'm proud of the way that they came out and found a way to finish. In two sets when we were down, we found a way to come back and win to get a big road match. A road win in the SEC is tough anywhere you play and I'm just happy we were able to find one today."-- Coach Rackham
On holding Auburn under .100 hitting on the day:
"Our blocking was pretty solid, which helped our defenders be able to be in the right spot. I thought Asha Phillips did a great job for us with both serving and on defensive. Madison Coulter definitely led the way just from a vocal and mentality standpoint. Our setters are great defenders and they both did a really nice job as well."-- Coach Rackham
From Lily Felts:
On winning in three sets on the road:
"It's definitely a big confidence booster for us. It's awesome to come on the road and get a sweep, especially considering it was our first road sweep at Auburn since 2000. It gives us a lot of momentum going into next week." – Sophomore Lily Felts
On having all nine kills come in the final two sets:
"I was able to get into a rhythm because our defense started clicking. We were able to run a lot of good sets in transition. Our setters were able to put a lot of good balls up for all the hitters. I was able to get into a rhythm due to our defense and our good passing in the second and third sets." – Sophomore Lily Felts
Standout Stat
- This marks the first sweep at Auburn since 2000 and marks the sixth straight-set victory in Auburn, Alabama in series history. Tennessee has now won back-to-back matches on the road in series history after defeating the Tigers in four sets last season.
Match Notables:
- For the third straight match, Tennessee finished the match with 10-plus blocks. On Sunday, the Lady Vols tallied 10.5 blocks, led by five blocks from junior middle blocker Addisyn Rowe
- Kailey Keeble nearly recorded her second double double of the season as she finished just one dig shy. She posted 14 assists and nine digs in the match.
- All nine of Lily Felts kills came in the final two sets to help close out the match. A 4.50 kills per set average.
Next Up
The Lady Vols are back home for three consecutive matches with the first coming against LSU on Friday night. Last season, Tennessee defeated the Tigers in four sets in Baton Rouge.
First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (ET) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The match will also air on SEC Network+.
