University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Alabama
Tennessee Cruises Past Alabama in Three Sets, Earning 13th Sweep of the Season
November 18, 2021 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee volleyball team opened its final regular-season series of the season Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena by sweeping Alabama (25-18, 25-19, 25-13).
The Lady Vols (18-8, 10-6 SEC) picked up their 13th sweep of the year and their sixth sweep in SEC play. Tennessee had a historic hitting night at .469, which is the second-highest hitting percentage by UT in a single match during the rally-scoring era.
Since 2001, three of Tennessee's top-10 hitting performances have come against the Crimson Tide. On Nov. 11, 2005, UT hit .467 and on Nov. 13, 2011, the Lady Vols hit .433.
Breana Runnels led UT on the night, putting down a team-and-match-high 17 kills. The Bakersfield, California, native finished the night with 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the year. Runnels also contributed four block assists.
Her .485 hitting percentage in the match is a season-high for the graduate senior.
The Lady Vol net-front presence was stellar all night as they posted 13 total blocks. Ava Bell led the effort with seven assisted blocks. Natalie Hayward finished with five block assists, while Danielle Mahaffey equaled Runnels with four. Morgahn Fingall and Lily Felts each put up two.
UT's presence at the net held Alabama (10-17, 2-13 SEC) to a .130 hitting percentage.
In addition to her two blocks, Fingall contributed 11 kills on the night and hit .435. The junior right-side ended the evening with three digs.
Felts put away nine kills on 17 swings and hit .529. It is the second time this season the Knoxville native has hit over .500 in a match – Felts hit .542 against Jacksonville State on Sept. 17. On the defensive end, she led the Lady Vols with 13 digs.
Key to Tennessee's impressive hitting night was the setting of Natalie Hayward. The senior dished out 41 assists and put the ball in excellent hitting positions for her attackers all night. Hayward put down two kills of her own, picked up a service ace and rounded out the match with five digs.
Mahaffey hit .800 in the win and scored eight kills to go along with her two digs and four blocks. Since 2001, only two players in program history have had 10-plus attempts and hit for a better average than Mahaffey on Thursday night.
Leah Hinkey hit .923 on Sept. 12, 2009, against Marshall and Milan Clarke hit .813 versus ETSU on Oct. 14, 2008.
TENNESSEE STAT LEADERS
Kills – Breana Runnels (17)
Assists – Natalie Hayward (41)
Digs – Lily Felts (13)
Blocks – Ava Bell (7)
UP NEXT
Tennessee and Alabama close out the two-match series Friday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and the match can be seen on SECN+. Friday is also senior night for UT as it will honor its eight seniors before the match.
