LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the fifth match in a row and the ninth time this season, the 14th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols swept their opponent, going on the road to Rupp Arena to best the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (25-23, 25-18, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon.
“I am just really proud of our team,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “I don’t think I adequately expressed how proud I was when we spoke in the locker room. I am just so happy for this group to be able to play as well as we did and with Kentucky being such a good team. We did it on their court. We didn’t play perfect, but we were close. We were so good from the block defense standpoint—probably as good as we’ve been all year. That’s something we have worked really hard on specifically in the last week. Our service game was good but didn’t result in as many points as it had been, so we had to do well with our block defense. Klaudia Pawlik came in and stepped up big for us. I thought Erykah Lovett had a tremendous match as well as Morgahn Fingall. I am so happy for the team. It was a big team win for us.”
The victory marked UT’s (11-1, 2-0 SEC) first win against a ranked UK team since beating the No. 23 Wildcats, 3-1, on Nov. 23, 2016, and the first for Rackham Watt against Kentucky. It was the first win by the Lady Vols in Lexington since Nov. 24, 2010, which was also a 3-0 sweep for the Big Orange.
As a team, Tennessee finished with 10 team blocks despite missing its starting middle blocker Keondreya Granberry. The defense posted 54 digs and held the Wildcats (2-7, 1-1 SEC) to just .134 hitting. Offensively, three different Lady Vols finished with double-digit kills, as UT recorded 50 kills on .282 hitting.
Fingall, a graduate student right side hitter, led the way for Tennessee, posting her second double-double on the year with 17 kills on .361 hitting, 10 digs, four blocks and an ace. Junior outside hitter Lovett also recorded her second double-double of the season and made several key plays throughout the match, finishing with 12 kills, 13 digs and three blocks.
Graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore added 12 kills on .300 hitting and four digs. Putting the Lady Vol attack in positions to succeed was redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr, who assisted on 44 of UT’s 50 kills and added five digs, one block and one kill on the day.
On defense, the redshirt sophomore middle blocker duo of Emily Beeker and Pawlik were massive at the net for Tennessee….
“I am just really proud of our team,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “I don’t think I adequately expressed how proud I was when we spoke in the locker room. I am just so happy for this group to be able to play as well as we did and with Kentucky being such a good team. We did it on their court. We didn’t play perfect, but we were close. We were so good from the block defense standpoint—probably as good as we’ve been all year. That’s something we have worked really hard on specifically in the last week. Our service game was good but didn’t result in as many points as it had been, so we had to do well with our block defense. Klaudia Pawlik came in and stepped up big for us. I thought Erykah Lovett had a tremendous match as well as Morgahn Fingall. I am so happy for the team. It was a big team win for us.”
The victory marked UT’s (11-1, 2-0 SEC) first win against a ranked UK team since beating the No. 23 Wildcats, 3-1, on Nov. 23, 2016, and the first for Rackham Watt against Kentucky. It was the first win by the Lady Vols in Lexington since Nov. 24, 2010, which was also a 3-0 sweep for the Big Orange.
As a team, Tennessee finished with 10 team blocks despite missing its starting middle blocker Keondreya Granberry. The defense posted 54 digs and held the Wildcats (2-7, 1-1 SEC) to just .134 hitting. Offensively, three different Lady Vols finished with double-digit kills, as UT recorded 50 kills on .282 hitting.
Fingall, a graduate student right side hitter, led the way for Tennessee, posting her second double-double on the year with 17 kills on .361 hitting, 10 digs, four blocks and an ace. Junior outside hitter Lovett also recorded her second double-double of the season and made several key plays throughout the match, finishing with 12 kills, 13 digs and three blocks.
Graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore added 12 kills on .300 hitting and four digs. Putting the Lady Vol attack in positions to succeed was redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr, who assisted on 44 of UT’s 50 kills and added five digs, one block and one kill on the day.
On defense, the redshirt sophomore middle blocker duo of Emily Beeker and Pawlik were massive at the net for Tennessee….
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