University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, February 13
Knoxville
6:30 PM
University of Tennessee
6-4,6-4SEC
3
vs
0
Missouri
8-4,8-4SEC
1
2
3
F
Missouri
22
17
22
0
Tennessee
25
25
25
3
Tennessee Sweeps #16 Missouri to Win Spring Opening Series
February 13, 2021 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee extended its winning streak to four-straight Saturday night as the Lady Vol volleyball team swept 16th-ranked Missouri in straight-sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) in front of the home crowd in Thompson-Boling Arena.
"I think this team has a lot of resolve and a lot of competitiveness," head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. "They came out on a mission to win this match. We had a lot of experience in the fall playing back-to-back matches. We recognized and remembered how hard it is. It took us about half a set in the first, but once we hit our stride, we felt pretty confident."
The Lady Vols (6-4, 6-4 SEC) completed the series sweep over the Tigers with a strong offensive and defensive performance. As a team, UT hit .308, notched 41 kills and scored three aces. On the defensive end, the Big Orange recorded nine blocks and held Missouri to a .168 hitting percentage.
Down 16-11 in the opening set, a service error by Missouri's Emily Brown followed by a kill from Morgahn Fingall sent the Lady Vols on a 6-2 run that closed the gap down to 18-17. The Tigers scored the next two points to open up a three point lead, but back-to-back kills by Fingall jump started another UT run as it closed the set by winning eight of the final 10 points.
Tennessee thoroughly controlled the second set on its way to taking a 2-0 match lead and went into the third set looking to close out the sweep.
Missouri (8-4, 8-4 SEC) and Tennessee battled in the final set with the score being tied 14 times and the lead changing hands five times. Knotted at 20-20 late in the third, UT took the lead for good as it finished off the Tigers with a 5-2 run.
The win is Tennessee's third victory over a ranked opponent this season. UT took down Mizzou Friday night to secure its second win over a ranked opponent on year, with the first coming on November 6 versus South Carolina.
Fingall terrorized Missouri all weekend as she followed up her 13 kill performance Friday night with a career-and-team-high 16 kill outing Saturday. The sophomore outside hit .429, while tallying four total blocks in the win.
For the series, Fingall scored 29 kills and notched eight total blocks.
Junior Lily Felts had a team-high .450 hitting percentage Saturday as she posted nine kills, nine digs and scored one service ace. Fellow junior Danielle Mahaffey did a little bit of everything for UT as she put down five kills, scored one ace and secured a team-leading five blocks.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols go to Mississippi next week for a pair of matches against Ole Miss.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Eve Rackham Watt
On Morgahn Fingall's 16-kill performance…
"What I liked the most was her mentality about going after it. She got some good sets. She got some out-of-rhythm sets. We used her in service, transition, front row and back row. She was getting all kinds of different balls and I liked the way that she went after it aggressively and took a lot of really good, smart swings."
On what the sweep means for the team going into the rest of the spring…
"I hope that it gives us some confidence, in terms of how good this team can be. We've talked a lot about how hard it is to be good, and the ability to repeat it and come out and do it every night against a lot of good SEC teams is important. For us, we need to build on it and go back into practice and keep finding ways to get better."
Sophomore Morgahn Fingall
On the team's convincing win over Missouri on Saturday…
"I think our team is really focused on our goals. We came into the season wanting to go to the NCAA Tournament, since we weren't able to make it last year. Having that focus and that drive really made us competitive in terms of going after it and playing to win."
On her team-high 16 kills in Tennessee's win…
"It's about preparation – preparation from the fall season. Obviously, the split season makes it a little bit different, with training. It was just the preparation with the team over the last two weeks and getting prepared for this first match."
"I think this team has a lot of resolve and a lot of competitiveness," head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. "They came out on a mission to win this match. We had a lot of experience in the fall playing back-to-back matches. We recognized and remembered how hard it is. It took us about half a set in the first, but once we hit our stride, we felt pretty confident."
The Lady Vols (6-4, 6-4 SEC) completed the series sweep over the Tigers with a strong offensive and defensive performance. As a team, UT hit .308, notched 41 kills and scored three aces. On the defensive end, the Big Orange recorded nine blocks and held Missouri to a .168 hitting percentage.
Down 16-11 in the opening set, a service error by Missouri's Emily Brown followed by a kill from Morgahn Fingall sent the Lady Vols on a 6-2 run that closed the gap down to 18-17. The Tigers scored the next two points to open up a three point lead, but back-to-back kills by Fingall jump started another UT run as it closed the set by winning eight of the final 10 points.
Tennessee thoroughly controlled the second set on its way to taking a 2-0 match lead and went into the third set looking to close out the sweep.
Missouri (8-4, 8-4 SEC) and Tennessee battled in the final set with the score being tied 14 times and the lead changing hands five times. Knotted at 20-20 late in the third, UT took the lead for good as it finished off the Tigers with a 5-2 run.
The win is Tennessee's third victory over a ranked opponent this season. UT took down Mizzou Friday night to secure its second win over a ranked opponent on year, with the first coming on November 6 versus South Carolina.
Fingall terrorized Missouri all weekend as she followed up her 13 kill performance Friday night with a career-and-team-high 16 kill outing Saturday. The sophomore outside hit .429, while tallying four total blocks in the win.
For the series, Fingall scored 29 kills and notched eight total blocks.
Junior Lily Felts had a team-high .450 hitting percentage Saturday as she posted nine kills, nine digs and scored one service ace. Fellow junior Danielle Mahaffey did a little bit of everything for UT as she put down five kills, scored one ace and secured a team-leading five blocks.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols go to Mississippi next week for a pair of matches against Ole Miss.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Eve Rackham Watt
On Morgahn Fingall's 16-kill performance…
"What I liked the most was her mentality about going after it. She got some good sets. She got some out-of-rhythm sets. We used her in service, transition, front row and back row. She was getting all kinds of different balls and I liked the way that she went after it aggressively and took a lot of really good, smart swings."
On what the sweep means for the team going into the rest of the spring…
"I hope that it gives us some confidence, in terms of how good this team can be. We've talked a lot about how hard it is to be good, and the ability to repeat it and come out and do it every night against a lot of good SEC teams is important. For us, we need to build on it and go back into practice and keep finding ways to get better."
Sophomore Morgahn Fingall
On the team's convincing win over Missouri on Saturday…
"I think our team is really focused on our goals. We came into the season wanting to go to the NCAA Tournament, since we weren't able to make it last year. Having that focus and that drive really made us competitive in terms of going after it and playing to win."
On her team-high 16 kills in Tennessee's win…
"It's about preparation – preparation from the fall season. Obviously, the split season makes it a little bit different, with training. It was just the preparation with the team over the last two weeks and getting prepared for this first match."
Team Stats
Mizzou
UT
Kills
40
41
Errors
20
9
Attempts
119
104
Hitting %
.168
.308
Points
47
53
Assists
33
36
Aces
3
3
Blocks
4
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
VB | Eve Rackham Watt Press Conference (8.25.25)
Monday, August 25
Everything Orange S2 I Volleyball Mashup
Thursday, October 03
VB | Tennessee vs. Western Kentucky Highlights (12.2.23)
Saturday, December 02
VB | Tennessee Press Conference vs. Western Kentucky (12.2.23)
Saturday, December 02
