University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, August 28
Knoxville
12:30 PM
University of Tennessee
2-0,0-0SEC
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East Tennessee State
1-2,0-0SoCon
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3
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ETSU
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Tennessee
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Tennessee Sweeps Saturday Matches, Wins Tennessee Classic
August 28, 2021 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols volleyball team walked away with two victories Saturday as they defeated ETSU (25-12, 25-16, 25-14) and NC State (25-12, 25-23. 25-16) to win the Tennessee Classic in front of the home crowd in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (3-0) did not drop a set on opening weekend as it cruised to the Tennessee Classic title. UT has now won 19 straight in the Tennessee Classic, and since 2015 is 25-0 in home tournaments.
UT earned the pair of wins Saturday on the back of its offense, putting on a clinic against the Buccaneers (1-2) and Wolfpack (0-3), recording a combined 84 kills in six total sets. The Big Orange hit an impressive .376 as a team over the final two matches of the tournament.
Setter Natalie Hayward was a large contributor to UT's offensive success, posting 65 total assists for an average of 10.83 assists per set on Saturday. The senior was named tournament MVP after she put up 108 assists – 12.00 assists per set – on the weekend as she helped lead the Lady Vols to three consecutive sweeps and the tournament title.
Benefiting from Hayward's precision passing was Morgahn Fingall and Lily Felts. Between the two matches Saturday, Fingall and Felts combined for 47 kills. Fingall scored 24 on a .375 hitting percentage, while Felts tallied 23, hitting .432. Both players were named to the Tennessee Classic All-Tournament Team.
Game One - Tennessee 3, ETSU 0
The Lady Vols were victorious in their first match of the day as they defeated ETSU in straight-sets.
Tennessee fired on all cylinders against the Bucs as it hit .390 and played stifling defense, limiting ETSU to a .011 hitting percentage. It is the lowest hitting percentage for an opponent since 2018, when UT held Belmont and Winthrop to a .000 hitting percentage on August 25 and 31, respectively.
Ava Bell led the Tennessee defense with nine blocks, while Fingall had six.
On the offensive side, Felts led Tennessee with 11 kills and two service aces, while Breana Runnels notched her second double-double as a Lady Vol, recording 10 kills and 10 digs. Hayward poured in 29 assists to help Tennessee secure the victory.
Tennessee cruised past ETSU in the first set 25-12, ending on a 13-4 run to close the Bucs out. Fingall and Felts each scored six kills to pace the Lady Vols.
In the second set, Tennessee jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and never looked back as it put away ETSU, 25-16 in the second set.
The Lady Vols proved to be too much for the Buccaneers as they won the third set 25-14 and won the match in straight-sets.
Game Two - Tennessee 3, NC State 0
In the tournament's final match, Tennessee won its third match in two days as it took care of NC State in three-sets.
It was Fingall who powered UT past the Wolfpack as the Junior notched a career-high four aces to go along with a team-leading 16 kills. Felts contributed with 12 kills and nine digs, while Hayward again paced Tennessee with 36 assists.
The first set belonged to Tennessee as it ended the first on a 12-2 run thanks in large part to Fingall. The Fairfax, Virginia, native scored three service aces over a span of four serves late in the first set.
The second set was Tennessee's closest during the Tennessee Classic, but it prevailed 25-23. UT led for most of the set, but the Wolfpack never went away and tied the set at 23-23. A pair of kills by Fingall and Felts helped the Lady Vols take the set.
NC State battled Tennessee hard midway through the third set as the score was knotted up at 13-13. From then on it was all Lady Vols as they closed the set out on a 12-3 run.
FROM HEAD COACH EVE RACKHAM WATT
On how the team looks after the first three matches of the season…
"Well, great start, you know, great to go 3-0 this weekend. I love the offensive balance that we had, you know, we take one match at a time. I'm sure every coach says that, but really it's just especially on the weekend where you play three matches in two days, it's just, you go match by match and early in the season you're really just trying to learn about yourself and you know learn what your team needs to work on and I thought we showed some really bright spots but definitely there's some things that we need to get better at. So, excited to walk away with three wins but know we've got some more work to do."
STAT LEADERS
Game One
Kills – Lily Felts (11)
Assists – Natalie Hayward (29)
Digs – Breana Runnels (10)
Blocks – Ava Bell (9)
Game Two
Kills – Morgahn Fingall (16)
Assists – Natalie Hayward (36)
Digs – Breana Runnels, Lily Felts (9)
Blocks – Natalie Hayward, Nicole Shanahan (3)
TENNESSEE DEBUTS
Two new faces made their Tennessee debuts on Saturday as Wisconsin graduate transfer Nicole Shanahan recorded six kills in two matches. Georgia Tech transfer Paola Laborda saw her first action as a Lady Volunteer and recorded a dig against ETSU.
TENNESSEE CLASSIC TOURNAMENT MVP: Natalie Hayward
TENNESSEE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tennessee: Lily Felts and Morgahn Fingall
Texas Tech: Reagan Cooper and Alex Kirby
ETSU: Josannah Vazquez
NC State: Jada Allen
UP NEXT
Tennessee will be back in action on Friday, September 3 when the No. 10-ranked Baylor Bears come to town. The match will start at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on SEC Network+.
Tennessee (3-0) did not drop a set on opening weekend as it cruised to the Tennessee Classic title. UT has now won 19 straight in the Tennessee Classic, and since 2015 is 25-0 in home tournaments.
UT earned the pair of wins Saturday on the back of its offense, putting on a clinic against the Buccaneers (1-2) and Wolfpack (0-3), recording a combined 84 kills in six total sets. The Big Orange hit an impressive .376 as a team over the final two matches of the tournament.
Setter Natalie Hayward was a large contributor to UT's offensive success, posting 65 total assists for an average of 10.83 assists per set on Saturday. The senior was named tournament MVP after she put up 108 assists – 12.00 assists per set – on the weekend as she helped lead the Lady Vols to three consecutive sweeps and the tournament title.
Benefiting from Hayward's precision passing was Morgahn Fingall and Lily Felts. Between the two matches Saturday, Fingall and Felts combined for 47 kills. Fingall scored 24 on a .375 hitting percentage, while Felts tallied 23, hitting .432. Both players were named to the Tennessee Classic All-Tournament Team.
Game One - Tennessee 3, ETSU 0
The Lady Vols were victorious in their first match of the day as they defeated ETSU in straight-sets.
Tennessee fired on all cylinders against the Bucs as it hit .390 and played stifling defense, limiting ETSU to a .011 hitting percentage. It is the lowest hitting percentage for an opponent since 2018, when UT held Belmont and Winthrop to a .000 hitting percentage on August 25 and 31, respectively.
Ava Bell led the Tennessee defense with nine blocks, while Fingall had six.
On the offensive side, Felts led Tennessee with 11 kills and two service aces, while Breana Runnels notched her second double-double as a Lady Vol, recording 10 kills and 10 digs. Hayward poured in 29 assists to help Tennessee secure the victory.
Tennessee cruised past ETSU in the first set 25-12, ending on a 13-4 run to close the Bucs out. Fingall and Felts each scored six kills to pace the Lady Vols.
In the second set, Tennessee jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and never looked back as it put away ETSU, 25-16 in the second set.
The Lady Vols proved to be too much for the Buccaneers as they won the third set 25-14 and won the match in straight-sets.
Game Two - Tennessee 3, NC State 0
In the tournament's final match, Tennessee won its third match in two days as it took care of NC State in three-sets.
It was Fingall who powered UT past the Wolfpack as the Junior notched a career-high four aces to go along with a team-leading 16 kills. Felts contributed with 12 kills and nine digs, while Hayward again paced Tennessee with 36 assists.
The first set belonged to Tennessee as it ended the first on a 12-2 run thanks in large part to Fingall. The Fairfax, Virginia, native scored three service aces over a span of four serves late in the first set.
The second set was Tennessee's closest during the Tennessee Classic, but it prevailed 25-23. UT led for most of the set, but the Wolfpack never went away and tied the set at 23-23. A pair of kills by Fingall and Felts helped the Lady Vols take the set.
NC State battled Tennessee hard midway through the third set as the score was knotted up at 13-13. From then on it was all Lady Vols as they closed the set out on a 12-3 run.
FROM HEAD COACH EVE RACKHAM WATT
On how the team looks after the first three matches of the season…
"Well, great start, you know, great to go 3-0 this weekend. I love the offensive balance that we had, you know, we take one match at a time. I'm sure every coach says that, but really it's just especially on the weekend where you play three matches in two days, it's just, you go match by match and early in the season you're really just trying to learn about yourself and you know learn what your team needs to work on and I thought we showed some really bright spots but definitely there's some things that we need to get better at. So, excited to walk away with three wins but know we've got some more work to do."
STAT LEADERS
Game One
Kills – Lily Felts (11)
Assists – Natalie Hayward (29)
Digs – Breana Runnels (10)
Blocks – Ava Bell (9)
Game Two
Kills – Morgahn Fingall (16)
Assists – Natalie Hayward (36)
Digs – Breana Runnels, Lily Felts (9)
Blocks – Natalie Hayward, Nicole Shanahan (3)
TENNESSEE DEBUTS
Two new faces made their Tennessee debuts on Saturday as Wisconsin graduate transfer Nicole Shanahan recorded six kills in two matches. Georgia Tech transfer Paola Laborda saw her first action as a Lady Volunteer and recorded a dig against ETSU.
TENNESSEE CLASSIC TOURNAMENT MVP: Natalie Hayward
TENNESSEE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tennessee: Lily Felts and Morgahn Fingall
Texas Tech: Reagan Cooper and Alex Kirby
ETSU: Josannah Vazquez
NC State: Jada Allen
UP NEXT
Tennessee will be back in action on Friday, September 3 when the No. 10-ranked Baylor Bears come to town. The match will start at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
ETSU
UT
Kills
23
41
Errors
22
9
Attempts
95
82
Hitting %
.011
.390
Points
32
55
Assists
23
36
Aces
4
3
Blocks
5
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballS
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
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