No. 24 Tennessee Falls in Four Sets at Mississippi State

Saturday, November 13

Starkville, MS

2 PM

University of Tennessee

Mississippi State

No. 24 Tennessee Falls in Four Sets at Mississippi State

November 13, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Opening up its two-match series at Mississippi State, the 24th-ranked Tennessee volleyball team battled hard but fell in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25) Saturday afternoon at the Newell-Grissom Building.

Tennessee (17-7, 9-5 SEC) totaled 57 kills, hit .237, notched five service aces, came up with 69 digs and posted 13 bocks in the match. On the other side of the net, Mississippi State (21-5, 12-2 SEC) extended its win streak to nine straight on 61 kills, a .221 hitting percentage, two aces, 70 digs and five blocks.

Breana Runnels led the Tennessee attack with a season-high-tying 21 kills on 48 swings. The Bakersfield, California, native hit .333 and added in three service aces, 11 digs and a season-high five blocks.

Her 21 kills and 11 digs Saturday give her eight double-doubles on the year.

Danielle Mahaffey and Morgahn Fingall put away 10 kills apiece, with Mahaffey hitting a team-high .471 in the match. Mahaffey also posted four blocks against the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State had three players finish with double-digit kills, with Lauren Myrick leading the way at 19. Gabby Waden put down 13 kills and was closely followed by Shania Cromartie with 13.

All four sets were tight and the match featured 27 score ties and 11 lead changes.

MSU won the first set 25-23 on the back of 16 kills, an ace and a pair of blocks. Tennessee led 23-21 late in the set, but a four-point Bulldog run at the end flipped the opening frame in their favor.

In the second, Tennessee bounced back with a 25-22 win. The Lady Vols hit .278 in the set with 14 kills, an ace and three blocks. Runnels paced UT with five kills and notched one of her three aces in the set. The graduate student also posted three blocks in the second frame.

The third and fourth sets went MSU's way as it won both sets 25-23. Errors were the Lady Vols downfall as they committed 13 in the third and 10 in the fourth.

TENNESSEE STAT LEADERS
Kills – Breana Runnels (21)

Assists – Natalie Hayward (42)

Digs – Lily Felts (13), Natalie Hayward (13)

Blocks – Ava Bell (6)

UP NEXT
Tennessee and Mississippi State close out the two-match series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The series finale can be streamed on SECN+ or through the WatchESPN app.