University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, August 30
Knoxville
8 PM
University of Tennessee
0-1
2
vs
3
Illinois
1-0
1
2
3
4
5
F
Illinois
24
23
25
25
23
3
Tennessee
26
25
22
17
21
2
No. 19 Lady Vols Fall in Five Sets to No. 6 Illinois in Front of Record Crowd
August 31, 2019 | Volleyball
Tessa Grubbs sets a new career with 29 kills en route to becoming the 22nd member of the 1,000 kill club
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In front of a record-breaking crowd of 3,342 in Thompson-Boling Arena, the No. 19 Tennessee volleyball team dropped a tight five-set match (26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 17-25, 21-23) to No. 6 Illinois.
The Lady Vols jumped out to a 2-0 set lead as they had their offense flowing, hitting .321 through with 33 kills at the midway point. The Fighting Illini battled back to take the next two sets sending it to a decisive fifth frame. The fifth set produced 12 ties and seven lead changes as neither team led by more than three points.
Down 14-12 in the set, Tennessee got two clutch kills from Lily Felts to tie the match at 14-14. An attack error from Illinois on the next point gave the Lady Vols their first of four match points in the set.
After Illinois took a 22-21 lead it went back to the middle where Ashlyn Fleming fit one through the block, giving the fifth set and the match to the Fighting Illini 23-21.
Returning All-American outside hitter Tessa Grubbs set a new career high with 29 kills in the match. It also is tied for the ninth most in program history and tied for the most in the 25-point rally-scoring era.
Fellow senior Sedona Hansen recorded her first double double of the season and the 48th in her career. Hansen finished the match with a team-high with 47 assists and set a new career-high 29 digs, tying a team high.
Junior libero Madison Coulter tied her career high with 29 digs in the match. The her previous 29-dig match came in a five-set victory over Colorado State in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
From Coach Rackham:
On the record-breaking home crowd:
"I'm so proud of the crowd that we had tonight. It was a fantastic environment. From a program standpoint, it means a lot that so many people came out to watch and support us play tonight. I'm really proud of the crowd we had." -- Coach Rackham
Standout Stat
The Lady Vols travel to Champaign, Illinois to complete the home-and-home weekend with No. 6 Illinois on Sunday. The Fighting Illini were 15-2 last season with both losses coming to top-10 teams in No. 3 Minnesota and No. 6 Wisconsin.
The match will air on Big Ten Network with the first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (ET).
The Lady Vols jumped out to a 2-0 set lead as they had their offense flowing, hitting .321 through with 33 kills at the midway point. The Fighting Illini battled back to take the next two sets sending it to a decisive fifth frame. The fifth set produced 12 ties and seven lead changes as neither team led by more than three points.
Down 14-12 in the set, Tennessee got two clutch kills from Lily Felts to tie the match at 14-14. An attack error from Illinois on the next point gave the Lady Vols their first of four match points in the set.
After Illinois took a 22-21 lead it went back to the middle where Ashlyn Fleming fit one through the block, giving the fifth set and the match to the Fighting Illini 23-21.
Returning All-American outside hitter Tessa Grubbs set a new career high with 29 kills in the match. It also is tied for the ninth most in program history and tied for the most in the 25-point rally-scoring era.
Fellow senior Sedona Hansen recorded her first double double of the season and the 48th in her career. Hansen finished the match with a team-high with 47 assists and set a new career-high 29 digs, tying a team high.
Junior libero Madison Coulter tied her career high with 29 digs in the match. The her previous 29-dig match came in a five-set victory over Colorado State in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
From Coach Rackham:
On the record-breaking home crowd:
"I'm so proud of the crowd that we had tonight. It was a fantastic environment. From a program standpoint, it means a lot that so many people came out to watch and support us play tonight. I'm really proud of the crowd we had." -- Coach Rackham
Standout Stat
- Senior outside hitter Tessa Grubbs became the 21st member of the 1,000-kill club in program history. Grubbs joined the exclusive club with her 25th kill of the match when she killed it off the Illinois block.
- After winning the first two frames of the match in Thompson-Boling, the Lady Vols extended its set streak over ranked opponents to five. The Lady Vols swept No. 13 Florida last November.
- In the first match of the 2019 season, Tennessee finished with 87 digs which was one shy of its season high in 2018 of 88 digs set against LSU. Coulter and Hansen's 29-dig performances are tied for 13th all-time in program history.
- Sophomores Ava Bell and Brooklynne Villano and freshmen Morgahn Fingall and Madisen Werdell all made their regular season debuts for the Lady Vols. Werdell finished the match with a pair of digs and an ace.
The Lady Vols travel to Champaign, Illinois to complete the home-and-home weekend with No. 6 Illinois on Sunday. The Fighting Illini were 15-2 last season with both losses coming to top-10 teams in No. 3 Minnesota and No. 6 Wisconsin.
The match will air on Big Ten Network with the first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (ET).
Team Stats
ILLINI
UT
Kills
77
66
Errors
26
24
Attempts
207
193
Hitting %
.246
.218
Points
100.0
77.0
Assists
72
57
Aces
12
1
Blocks
11.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
29
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
DS/L
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