No. 20 Lady Vols Drop a Heartbreaker to Texas A&M, 3-2

Sunday, October 3

Knoxville

1 PM

University of Tennessee

12-3,4-1SEC

Texas A&M

10-4,3-1SEC

Texas A&M

Tennessee

No. 20 Lady Vols Drop a Heartbreaker to Texas A&M, 3-2

October 03, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 20th-ranked Lady Vol volleyball team dropped their first SEC match of the season Sunday, falling in a tough five-setter (26-24, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-17) to Texas A&M at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols (12-3, 4-1 SEC) hit .222 on the day and put down 63 kills with seven service aces. Texas A&M (10-4, 3-1 SEC) scored 68 kills on a .214 hit percentage along with four service aces. The Aggies put up 17 blocks to UT's 15.

Five Lady Vols reached double-figures in kills with Danielle Mahaffey leading the way with 14. Breana Runnels picked up 13, while Ava Bell, Lily Felts and Morgahn Fingall all scored 11.

Felts and Natalie Hayward both earned double-doubles in the match. Along with her 11 kills, Felts earned 11 digs to record her fourth double-double of the year. That also pushes her career double-double tally to 21, which makes her ninth all-time in Tennessee history, breaking a tie with Chelsea Noble.

Hayward's double-double came by dishing out 49 assists and picking up 20 digs. It is her eighth double-double of the season. The Bothell, Washington, native moved to seventh all-time in UT history in assists Sunday, passing Erica Lear.

In a sign of things to come, the opening set was a back-and-forth affair with the score tied nine times and the lead changing hands four times. Tennessee won the opening set, 26-24, thanks to Runnels' set-high six kills.

The Aggies responded in the second with a 25-23 win. Down 17-10, Texas A&M rallied and tied the set at 17-17 before taking the lead at 22-21. UT pushed back after falling behind 23-21 but was unable to complete a rally of its own, falling in the second set.

Tennessee blitzed Texas A&M in the third set, winning 25-17. UT hit .310 in the third and totaled six blocks.

In another back-and-forth set, the fourth saw eight score ties and four lead changes as the Aggies won 25-21 to force a fifth and deciding final set. Texas A&M hit .366 and put down 18 kills to go along with four blocks in the fourth set win.

In the fifth set, Tennessee struggled as it hit .095 versus Texas A&M's .273. Despite the difference in hitting, the fifth was hard-fought with the lead swapping back-and-forth four times and the set being tied 10 times.

The Aggies put away 11 kills and managed four blocks as they won the set, 17-15.

STAT LEADERS
Kills – Danielle Mahaffey (14)

Assists – Natalie Hayward (49)

Digs – Madison Bryant (23)

Blocks – Danielle Mahaffey (8)

UP NEXT
Tennessee begins a five-match road swing Oct. 8-9 in Columbia, South Carolina, against the Gamecocks. Following the two-match series in South Carolina, UT travels to Athens, Georgia, for one match against the Bulldogs before closing out the road trip Oct. 23-24 at LSU.