Lady Vols Win Over LSU in Five Sets, Take Series Victory

Thursday, March 25

Knoxville

2 PM

University of Tennessee

12-8,12-8SEC

LSU

9-13,9-13SEC

LSU

Tennessee

Lady Vols Win Over LSU in Five Sets, Take Series Victory

March 25, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With the aid of Ava Bell, Morgahn Fingall and Lily Felts, the Lady Vol volleyball team defeated LSU Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena in five sets (26-28, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 15-11) to earn the series sweep.

Bell was a force in the middle all match long, scoring 14 kills on a .650 hitting percentage. The Austin, Texas, native also came away with nine total blocks – four solo and five assisted. Bell's four solo blocks ties her career-high set against Mississippi State on March 6.

On the right side, Fingall led the Lady Vols with a team-high 19 kills. The sophomore dug 13 balls in the match to earn her second double-double of the season. Fingall's 13 digs is also a season-and-career-high.

Felts scored 15 kills in the UT victory, giving her 14 double-figure kill matches this season. That is the most in her career in a single year. The Knoxville native tied her season-high with three total blocks against LSU on Thursday.

Setter Natalie Hayward passed out 48 assists to go along with 12 digs. Hayward has tallied 40-plus assists in five of the past six matches and earned her eighth double-double of the year with 12 digs in the win over LSU.

Tennessee (12-8, 12-8 SEC) put down 60 kills and posted 15 total blocks, while LSU (9-13, 9-13 SEC) scored 58 kills and had nine total blocks. Both sides struggled with errors as Tennessee committed 29 in attack to LSU's 30.

The opening set saw extra time as a back-and-forth first set went past the 25-point margin as LSU took the win, 28-26. UT responded in the second, winning 25-23. The Lady Vols controlled the third set throughout as it took the match lead at 2-1, following a 25-16 third set victory.

UT hit .378 in the set as it cruised into the lead.

LSU did not go away quietly, fighting back to take the fourth set, 25-18.

In the end, Tennessee won the match as it took the fifth set, 15-11.

QUOTABLES

Head Coach Eve Rackham Watt

On the overall evaluation of the 2020-2021 season:

"For me, just watching the growth of this team and this group of players. We've had to do a lot shuffling. We've had to play players without a lot of experience, we've had to put people in different positions, so I'm proud of the work this team and program has done over the course of this past year. It has not been easy by any means. We have had a number of challenges. Our kids love to play, they love to compete. We're tough. We just kept finding a way with whatever lineup we put out there and people kept coming to practice and working hard. Even tonight, you could see our bench come in and helped us. I'm honestly just so proud of this team and what they've done."

On what it is like playing in five set matches:

"When you get into that fifth set, it's just a sprint. It really can go either way. The fifth set is just whichever team can play the cleanest volleyball. You look at the numbers, we didn't hit great, but they hit negatives. We played a little bit cleaner than they did. I thought we served pretty tough the fifth set. To me, it's about understanding the pace of that fifth set and how important each point is. When somebody gets a lead, that 15 gets on you quick."

Junior Ava Bell

On how she felt her, and her team responded in crunch time moments:

"I feel like when it counted, we step up. When we were on the serving line, we served with so much pressure and allowed the block unit to capitalize. I think when we needed kills, we got them from all hitters. I think that is the definition of team effort."

On her overall thoughts of this unprecedented season:

"It goes back to my teammates. We really stuck it out together. It's really difficult, it's a huge sacrifice. You go through all the COVID protocols, playing all the time, and making up matches. And then not being able to play. There was so much back and forth this whole year, and I think that we all stayed steady through it. I'm so proud of my teammates and so grateful we got the opportunity to play."