#17 Lady Vols Dominate LIU in Straight Sets

Friday, September 6

Knoxville

6:30 pm

University of Tennessee

2-2,0-0SEC

LIU

1-4,0-0NEC

LIU

Tennessee

September 06, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 17th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols never trailed during a dominant sweep (25-11, 25-10, 25-14) against LIU at Food City Center on Friday night.

The Big Orange (2-2) recorded its second sweep of the season in front of the third-largest crowd in program history at 3,399. The Tennessee offense had the hot hand all night long, posting 44 kills–an average of 14.7 kills per set–on .427 hitting. The Lady Vols assisted on 39 of the kills and recorded eight aces.

Graduate student outside hitter Nina Cajic carried the offense, racking up 14 kills on .500 hitting in addition to seven digs. Junior middle blocker Keondreya Granberry assembled 10 kills on .833 hitting and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Hayden Kubik rounded out the offensive attack by tallying nine kills on .450 hitting, eight digs, two blocks and an ace on the night. Redshirt sophomore setter Caroline Kerr had 35 assists, six digs, a match-high three aces and one kill in an all-around performance.

Defensively, UT generated 37 digs on the night and tallied eight blocks to shut down the LIU (1-4) offense. The Sharks finished with -.052 hitting on the evening and averaged just five kills per set for the match.

Freshman outside hitter Paityn Chapman recorded a season-best of five blocks to go along with five kills and two digs. Fellow freshman middle blocker Chelsea Sutton made her collegiate debut and finished with three blocks and a kill. On the back row, senior libero Abby Ekeler and redshirt freshman outside hitter Eryn Jones each had four digs.

In the first set, the Lady Vols came out strong with a 7-1 lead and collected 18 kills on .519 hitting. Cajic led the team with five kills, while Kubik and Chapman each added four of their own. Defensively, the Big Orange held LIU to a negative hitting percentage of -.077 thanks to 16 digs.

The Lady Vols continued their momentum in the second frame, starting with an 8-0 run to open the set. Offensively, Tennessee recorded 13 kills on .440 hitting, as Granberry carried with six kills on .857 hitting. The Big Orange defense once again made plays, tallying 10 digs and six blocks to take the Sharks' offense out of the match.

UT sealed the deal with a fast final frame, as the Lady Vols fired on all cylinders on offense and defense. The Big Orange posted 13 kills on 13 assists and notched five aces while earning 11 digs and four blocks.

Up next, the Lady Vols hit the road for a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament Round of 32 contest, taking on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. UT won that match in a 3-0 sweep to move on to the Sweet 16, while ending a 25-match win streak for WKU. The contest will be at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, and it will be streamed on ESPN+.