Lady Vols Fall to No. 15 South Carolina in Three Sets

Saturday, November 7

Knoxville

5 P.M.

University of Tennessee

2-4,2-4SEC

South Carolina

4-2,4-2SEC

South Carolina

Tennessee

November 07, 2020 | Volleyball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Lady Vol volleyball team fell at home Saturday in straight sets (16-25, 23-25, 23-25) to 15th-ranked South Carolina.

Tennessee (2-4, 2-4 SEC) struggled on the offensive end, hitting .179 on the night. South Carolina (4-2, 4-2 SEC) was able to stay in rhythm, hitting .288. Riley Whiteside led the Gamecocks with 12 kills, while Mikayla Robinson and Holly Eastridge chipped in with nine apiece.

Junior Lily Felts had another strong night for UT, racking up a team and match-high 18 kills, hitting .444 and coming up with 11 digs. It is the third double-double of the season for the Knoxville native and the 13th of her career.

Setter Natalie Hayward also earned a double-double Saturday, dishing out 16 assists and digging 10 balls. It is the third double-double of the year for Hayward.

Sophomore setter Kailey Keeble played a key role in the offense, netting a team-high 20 assists to go along with seven digs. The 20 assists are a season-high for Keeble, falling just one shy of tying her career-best.

The Walland, Tennessee, native added one service ace to her night in the opening set.

Through the middle, Ava Bell continued to give South Carolina problems as she scored eight kills on a .375 hitting percentage. Bell also posted three blocks on Saturday night.

SET 1
Looking to avoid a repeat of Friday night's 25-7 first set loss, South Carolina got off to a quick start in Saturday's first set thanks to a .364 hitting percentage. Robinson and Whiteside each earned five kills in the first frame.

The Gamecocks kept the Lady Vols off balance offensively, winning the set 25-16.

For UT in the opening set, Felts notched three kills and hit .400.

SET 2
The second stanza was tight throughout with the score tied at 10 different points through the set and the lead changing hands entirely on five occasions.

UT was again led by Felts on the offensive end as she tallied four kills. Bell and redshirt freshman Emily Merrick each added three kills in the second frame. Bell picked up two of her three blocks in the set.

South Carolina had a strong performance from Whiteside and Eastridge as the duo scored six and five kills, respectively.

With UT leading 22-19, the Gamecocks rallied with a 6-1 scoring run to win the second set, 25-23.

SET 3
Felts did the majority of her damage in the third, racking up 11 kills and hitting an impressive .733. Bell added four kills for the Lady Vols, while sophomore Morgahn Fingall and freshman Jasmine Brooks each pitched in with three kills.

South Carolina only earned nine kills in the set, but 12 attack errors by UT kept them alive.

Down 21-18, Tennessee looked to flip the tables on South Carolina as it rallied back to tie the set at 21-21. The Gamecocks then reeled off three-straight points getting to set and match point.

Tennessee picked up back-to-back kills from Felts and Bell to close to within one point, but Robinson closed the door with a kill as South Carolina won the set 25-23 and won the match in straight-sets.

UP NEXT
Tennessee closes out the fall season with a road trip to Auburn. The Lady Vols and Tigers square off Nov. 18 and 19.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Eve Rackham Watt

On what she wants to see from Lily Felts in tight matches…

"She's the most experienced player on the floor. She's been a six-rotation player for us since her freshman year. She's the most poised. You can tell that she's been in these moments, in these situations before. She's used to getting sets at the end of a match, having to deliver and come through. I think she's doing what we need her to do. She's doing what she expects of herself. I'm glad that she's playing as well as she is, because we certainly need her to."

On if she thought set two was the defining set of the game…

"No, I don't think so. Obviously, it would have been nice to go 1-1 and then maybe the match looks a little bit different. The 25-23 score, you see it in volleyball all the time. It's a very common score. I told the kids in a timeout that we're exactly where we should be. This is what high-level volleyball is. It comes down to having to make a play at the end. I think it would have been great to split, but I think going down 0-2, it happens. You've just got to come back and win the next set."