Lady Vols Win Senior Day Thriller Over Mississippi State, 3-2

Sunday, November 20

Knoxville

12 PM

University of Tennessee

16-12,10-6SEC

Mississippi State

13-13,6-10SEC

Mississippi St.

Tennessee

Lady Vols Win Senior Day Thriller Over Mississippi State, 3-2

November 20, 2022 | Volleyball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee volleyball's seniors refused to yield Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena as they led the Lady Vols to a five-set victory (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 16-14) over Mississippi State on senior day.

Senior setter Natalie Hayward had a historic outing in her final home match as a Lady Vol, scoring her first career triple-double with a career-high 10 kills, a career-best 61 assists and 14 digs. She capped the match with two block assists and an ace.

She is the first Lady Vol to record a triple-double since Mary Pollmiller on Sept. 2, 2012, against Wichita State. It is just the fourth triple-double recorded in program history (triple-double records before 1998 are incomplete).

Senior Morgahn Fingall was one beneficiary of Hayward's career day, as she put away a career-high 29 kills against MSU. The right-side attacker took 58 swings and hit .448. Fingall finished with a double-double, picking up 13 digs.

Junior Jasmine Brooks added 16 kills, two solo blocks and two block assists, while sophomore Erykah Lovett chipped in with 11 kills. Lovett's biggest contribution came on the defensive end as she picked up a career-high 21 digs – tying libero Ashllyn King for the team lead on Sunday.

In the middle, graduate Danielle Mahaffey scored eight kills and two solo blocks while garnering six assisted blocks.

As a team, Tennessee (16-12, 10-6 SEC) tallied 79 kills in the win – the most by UT in a match this season. In the rally-scoring era, UT's performance is tied for the fourth-most kills in program history and is the most in a match since 2005.

Mississippi State (13-13, 6-10 SEC) was led by Gabby Waden and her 29 kills. Shania Cromartie (13), Sania Petties (12) and Lauren Myrick (10) all finished in double-figures in kills, contributing to MSU's total of 71.

The Bulldogs edged the Lady Vols in the opening set, winning 25-23. MSU notched 15 kills and hit .308 out of the gate. UT topped Mississippi State with 18 kills but committed two more errors in attack along with two reception errors and a blocking error.

UT stayed hot and eliminated the errors in the second set as it cruised to a 25-17 win to even the match at one set apiece. Fingall scored nine of the Lady Vols' 16 kills in the frame, with Hayward putting down four and dishing out 11 assists.

Both offenses were free swinging in the third as Tennessee hit .515 with 18 kills and Mississippi State hit .375 and scored 15 kills. Fingall again led UT with seven, while Brooks and Hayward each added four. The set was tight throughout, but the Lady Vols scored seven of the final 10 points in the frame to win, 25-19.

MSU jumped out on UT in the fourth, taking a 7-2 lead in the early going. The Lady Vols chipped away at the deficit all set long and tied it up late in the frame at 22-22. After swapping points to make it 23-23, the Bulldogs secured the final two points of the set, winning 25-23.

Mississippi State scored three quick points to open the fifth set before Tennessee went on a 5-1 run to take the lead at 5-4. It was then MSU's turn for a run as they scored six of the next eight points, regaining the lead at 10-7.

Needing a spark, UT turned to Fingall who recorded five of her seven kills in the set down the stretch to key Tennessee's rally. With the Fairfax, Virginia, native leading the charge, UT scored eight of the final 12 points to win the set, 16-14.

The victory over Mississippi State is Tennessee's sixth in its last seven matches and gives UT 12 wins at home for the second consecutive season.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will close out the regular season with a Thanksgiving road trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Lady Vols and Crimson Tide will play two matches over three days, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 23 and concluding on Friday, Nov. 25.