Lady Vols Roll the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Winning in Four Sets

Saturday, March 20

Tuscaloosa, AL

3 PM

University of Tennessee

10-8,10-8SEC

Alabama

7-13,7-13SEC

Tennessee

Alabama

Lady Vols Roll the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Winning in Four Sets

March 20, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Four Lady Vols scored double figure kills for Tennessee as it took down Alabama in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20) Saturday afternoon in Foster Auditorium.

Tennessee (10-8, 10-8 SEC) bounced back from Friday night's defeat to the Tide (7-13, 7-13 SEC) to earn the series split. The Lady Vols hit .276 percent, totaled 56 kills and posted 12 blocks in the victory.

Alabama struggled offensively throughout the day, hitting .090 for the match and committing 27 attack errors. The Crimson Tide hit under .100 in two of the four sets.

Morgahn Fingall brought the offense for UT, posting 16 kills and hitting .325. The sophomore right side earned five block assists, eight digs, an ace and an assist in the win. In nine of the Lady Vols' 10 matches this spring, Fingall has notched 10-plus kills.

Outside hitters Lily Felts and Jasmine Brooks each scored 11 kills in the match, with Brooks putting away the final kill of the match to close out the Big Orange win. Felts posted 10 digs on the day for her eighth double-double of the season.

Ava Bell and Danielle Mahaffey were once again key in the middle for the Lady Vols. Bell finished the day with 10 kills on a .571 hitting percentage and added five total blocks. Mahaffey had five kills, but posted seven total blocks.

Setter Natalie Hayward had another strong outing with 42 assists and eight digs to go along with four kills. The Bothell, Washington, native made her presence felt from the service line in Saturday's match, as she helped UT go on several scoring runs by keeping the Tide off balance and stuck in bad rotations.

On the backline, libero Madison Bryant ended the day with 21 digs. It is the second time this season the Anderson, South Carolina, native has posted more than 20 digs in a match.

All four sets followed the same script as the opening portions were very nip-and-tuck. However, in the first, third and fourth set wins for the Lady Vols, once they reached the 10-point mark UT was able to string together runs and take control of the sets.

UP NEXT
Tennessee returns home next week for a pair of midweek matches against LSU. The Lady Vols and Tigers are slated for matches on Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25. First serve for both matches is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.