RALEIGH, N.C. – In its opening match of the NC State Classic, the Tennessee volleyball team defeated Elon in four sets (23-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-9) thanks to senior Morgahn Fingall and freshman Keondreya Granberry’s double-digit kill outings Friday at Valvano Arena.
Fingall led the team with 18 kills, while Granberry put down a career-best 12. Both players had impressive attacking numbers with Fingall hitting at .325 and Granberry swinging at .611 out of the middle.
Tennessee (2-2) dropped the opening set 23-25 before rebounding in the second with a 26-24 win to even the match at one set apiece. UT’s attacking duo each scored four kills in the frame, while redshirt freshman Klaudia Pawlik posted two of her team-leading-and-career-high seven blocks in the set.
Redshirt junior Paola Laborda notched two of her career-high four service aces in the second.
Fingall and Granberry again led UT through the third set as they combined for nine kills. Kernersville, North Carolina, native Kadynce Boothe added three more kills in the set as the Lady Vols took a 25-22 third-set victory.
UT blitzed Elon (1-4) in the fourth as it hit .484 in the final frame to win 25-9. Fingall and Pawlik deposited four kills apiece, while Granberry put down three. Elon’s nine points in the set are tied for the fourth-lowest amount of points a Tennessee opponent has scored in a set in the rally-scoring era.
It is also the second time under head coach Eve Rackham Watt that the Lady Vols have held an opponent to under 10 points in a single set. The first occasion came on Nov. 6, 2020, at home against South Carolina when UT limited the Gamecocks to just seven points in the opening frame.
UP NEXT
Tennessee plays twice on Saturday, starting with Colgate at 11 a.m. ET and concluding against NC State at 7 p.m.
Fingall led the team with 18 kills, while Granberry put down a career-best 12. Both players had impressive attacking numbers with Fingall hitting at .325 and Granberry swinging at .611 out of the middle.
Tennessee (2-2) dropped the opening set 23-25 before rebounding in the second with a 26-24 win to even the match at one set apiece. UT’s attacking duo each scored four kills in the frame, while redshirt freshman Klaudia Pawlik posted two of her team-leading-and-career-high seven blocks in the set.
Redshirt junior Paola Laborda notched two of her career-high four service aces in the second.
Fingall and Granberry again led UT through the third set as they combined for nine kills. Kernersville, North Carolina, native Kadynce Boothe added three more kills in the set as the Lady Vols took a 25-22 third-set victory.
UT blitzed Elon (1-4) in the fourth as it hit .484 in the final frame to win 25-9. Fingall and Pawlik deposited four kills apiece, while Granberry put down three. Elon’s nine points in the set are tied for the fourth-lowest amount of points a Tennessee opponent has scored in a set in the rally-scoring era.
It is also the second time under head coach Eve Rackham Watt that the Lady Vols have held an opponent to under 10 points in a single set. The first occasion came on Nov. 6, 2020, at home against South Carolina when UT limited the Gamecocks to just seven points in the opening frame.
UP NEXT
Tennessee plays twice on Saturday, starting with Colgate at 11 a.m. ET and concluding against NC State at 7 p.m.
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