University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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Tennessee Completes Tennessee Classic with Sweeps of Marist and UT Martin
August 26, 2023 | Volleyball
Knoxville, Tenn. – Tennessee volleyball wrapped up the Tennessee Classic with two straight-set sweeps on Saturday at Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (3-0) opened the day with a win over Marist (25-15, 25-13, 25-12), before defeating UT Martin (25-15, 25-8, 25-9) in the final match of the weekend. The 2023 campaign marks just the sixth time in school history in which Tennessee has opened a season with three consecutive sweeps – it is the second time achieving the feat under head coach Eve Rackham Watt.
Graduate student Jenaisya Moore continued her impactful first weekend as a Lady Vol, leading the team with 23 kills between the two matches. Graduate student Morgahn Fingall also made her presence felt, tallying 15 total kills, giving the duo a combined 38 kills throughout the day.
Redshirt freshman Caroline Kerr continued to lead Tennessee as a setter with 60 assists over the two matches, while also having eight service aces.
Three true freshmen saw the floor for the first time on Saturday, with Mackenzie Plante recording nine kills over the tournament's second day. Katie Barrier, Sydney Jaynes and Plante all made their UT debut against Marist.
Match One - Tennessee 3 Marist 0
Donning the Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time in 2023, the Lady Vols quickly dispatched Marist (0-3) in three sets.
Moore led UT with 11 kills and held a hitting percentage of .474. The team recorded 36 kills while hitting .418.
Trailing 8-6 early, Tennessee rattled off a 7-0 run to take a 13-8 lead and didn't look back, winning the first set 25-15. The second frame started off highly contested before UT went on another run to pull away from the Red Foxes en route to a dominant 25-13 set victory.
The Lady Vols clinched the match victory with a 25-12 win in the third after racing out to a 9-1 lead, forcing Marist to burn two timeouts early.
Match Two - Tennessee 3 UT Martin 0
The Big Orange wrapped up their first weekend of competition with a sweep of UT Martin (1-2) in the final match of the Tennessee Classic.
Moore led UT in kills once again, recording 12 with a hitting percentage of .571. Junior Erykah Lovett and Fingall were right behind her, each recording eight.
The Lady Vols took the first set over the Skyhawks 25-15 thanks to a balanced output with sophomore Keondreya Granberry and redshirt sophomore Klaudia Pawlik joining Lovett and Moore with four kills.
In the second, Tennessee opened with a dominant 6-1 start that UTM never recovered from in the 25-8 decision. The eight points scored by UT Martin was the lowest scored against Tennessee in a set since South Carolina in 2020.
The third frame continued Tennessee's streak of dominance, as they won 25-9 to put away their third win of the weekend.
The match made history for the Lady Vols as for the first time under Rackham Watt Tennessee held its opponent to single digits in two sets during a match. UT Martin scored eight in the second and nine in the third.
Tennessee Classic Tournament MVP: Morgahn Fingall
Tennessee Classic All-Tournament Team:
Tennessee: Morgahn Fingall, Caroline Kerr, Jenaisya Moore
Texas State: Bailey Hanner, KJ Johnson
UT Martin: Olivia Saunders
Marist: Sasha van der Merwe
Up Next:
Tennessee will head out west for the USD Invitational in San Diego, California, where they will play two matches, starting with No. 13 San Diego on August 31 at 10 p.m. ET. UT will wrap up their time on the West Coast on September 1 at 7 p.m. ET against Boston College.
