Lady Vols Grab Senior Night Win Over Auburn

Wednesday, November 27

Knoxville

5 PM

University of Tennessee

14-13,8-9SEC

Auburn

6-22,0-17SEC

Auburn

Tennessee

November 27, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Post-Match Interview Photo Gallery

Senior defensive specialist/libero Asha Phillips records a career-high 28 digs in the four-set win over the Tigers

By: Andy Kovar

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Senior Night in Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Tennessee defeated Auburn, in four sets (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15).

The Lady Vols (14-13, 8-9 SEC) were led by a career-high performance form senior Asha Phillips, who recorded 28 digs. On the final play of the match, Phillips received the serve, getting the ball to senior Sedona Hansen. She set the ball out to the left pin as senior Tessa Grubbs hammered one through the back row of the Tigers (6-22, 0-17 SEC) defense.

It sealed a 25-15 win in the fourth set and gave Tennessee its fourth win in the last five matches. Grubbs tied for the team-high with 14 kills while had a team-best .371 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Lily Felts joined her at 14 kills as she also recorded her fifth double-double of the season, adding 14 digs in the victory.

For the sixth time this season, Hansen went for 45-plus assists in a match. She posted a game-high 47 assists (11.75 assists/set) to go along with five digs and three kills.

She helped the offense get off to a fast start. It wasn't until midway through the second set that Tennessee had recorded a hitting error, notching 18 kills before the first error at 11-8 in the second set. With the offense hitting .302 percent through the first two frames, Tennessee cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match.

For the fifth time in the last seven matches, junior Addisyn Rowe recorded double-digit kills as he posted 10 on the night while hitting .348 percent. She was one of six Lady Vols to tie for a team-high with two blocks.

From Coach Rackham:
On getting the win on Senior Night:
"You can't hope for anything else other than to be able to play great at home and send your seniors out the right way. We gave them all a chance to start and they played so well. It's kind of storybook ending, but that's what you want to be able to do. And I just feel fortunate we were able to do that for them and to be able to repay as much as we can."—Coach Eve Rackham

On the career-high from Asha Phillips:
"She's given a lot to this program. She's been through a lot. She's worked really hard. She's been a good teammate and solid senior. I'm just I'm happy for her that she was able to not only play in libero, but just have an awesome night."-- Coach Rackham

On focus heading into final week of the regular season:
"Senior Night is happy and sad kind of all at the same time. There was a lot of emotion involved because our seniors have contributed so much not only just in the volleyball, but also to the university, to the athletic department and in the community. They are great students and they are great representatives of the program. When we came in a year ago, they were accepting of us and bought in. They've been great to us and we will miss them."-- Coach Rackham

From Asha Phillips:
On emotions of Senior Night:
"The four of us have been together for all four years. It was a really exciting moment for us to all be on the court for the majority of the match together. At the end, it was a great moment to finish the game with me passing to Sedona and her setting up Tessa for the kill" – Senior Asha Phillips

On the team's effort and fight:
"I felt good from the very beginning, just knowing it was going to be my last time in Thompson-Boling. I put the time in for four years to come out here and perform and I did tonight. I got the chance to be libero and I was just fortunate for the opportunity."– Senior Asha Phillips

Standout Stat

With 14 kills in the match, Tessa Grubbs is now eighth all-time in program history in kills. She passed Stephanie Ehlers (1985-88) and now has 1,405 kills in her four-year career.

Match Notables:

Asha Phillips more than doubled her career high in digs on Wednesday night. She tallied 28 with her previous career-high being 13 against LSU in her sophomore season (Nov. 27, 2017).
Lily Felts recorded her ninth double-double of her career. Eight of the nine have come against SEC opponents with the other double-double coming against Colorado State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
With 10 digs in the match, Madison Coulter now need just 19 digs going into the final match to reach 1,000 in her career. She currently ranks 17th in program history with 981 digs.

Next Up
The Lady Vols travel to Starkville, Mississippi to close out the regular season against Mississippi State. Tennessee will look to extend its winning streak over the Bulldogs to five matches after sweeping them earlier this season in Knoxville.

First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ET) in Newell-Grissom Building. The match will also air on SEC Network+.