KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The third-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols swept High Point (25-20, 25-19, 25-15) to open the NCAA Tournament at Food City Center on Friday night.
UT returns to action Saturday night at 6 p.m., as the Lady Vols take on No. 6 seed Western Kentucky, who boasts 30-4 record and were the Conference USA champions. Fans can purchase tickets for $5 on AllVols.com and parking will be free in G-10 garage. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+.
The Big Orange (25-4) enjoyed an all-around performance thanks to a strong offensive showing with 49 kills on .402 hitting, while the defense posted 47 digs, nine blocks and held the Panthers (23-8) to just .109 hitting—the lowest hitting percentage in the postseason by a Tennessee opponent during the 25-point rallying scoring era. High Point’s 30 kills, 29 assists and 28 digs all marked the second-lowest totals recorded by UT foes in the NCAA Tournament during the 25-point rallying scoring era.
The Lady Vols earned their 18th sweep of the season thanks to the offensive play by the graduate student duo of Morgahn Fingall and Jenaisya Moore. Fingall led all players with 18 kills on .452 hitting in addition to seven digs and two blocks. Moore tallied 17 kills on .533 hitting to go with three digs and three blocks. Redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr rounded out the All-SEC trio’s night with 44 assists, six digs, three blocks and an ace.
Defensively, six different Lady Vols finished with multiple blocks, with sophomore middle blocker Keondreya Granberry pacing UT behind five rejections and four kills. Fellow middle blockers Emily Beeker and Raeven Chase each added a pair of blocks, while Beeker also chipped in four kills on four attacks. On the back row, junior outside hitter Erykah Lovett had 12 digs and six kills, while graduate student libero Yelianiz Torres tallied a match-best 13 digs, two aces and two assists.
Fingall had the hot hand to open the match, recording nine kills on .643 hitting to go along with a pair of digs and two blocks. Kerr had 15 of UT’s 18 assists in the frame, as the Lady Vols hit .333 compared to High Point’s .103. The Big Orange had four blocks in the period to take the early advantage.
Tennessee kept its momentum going in the second stanza, as Moore led the way with six kills to spearhead the offense. The Big Orange held Panthers .121 hitting in the frame, as UT never trailed during the set to go up 2-0 in the contest.
High Point…
UT returns to action Saturday night at 6 p.m., as the Lady Vols take on No. 6 seed Western Kentucky, who boasts 30-4 record and were the Conference USA champions. Fans can purchase tickets for $5 on AllVols.com and parking will be free in G-10 garage. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+.
The Big Orange (25-4) enjoyed an all-around performance thanks to a strong offensive showing with 49 kills on .402 hitting, while the defense posted 47 digs, nine blocks and held the Panthers (23-8) to just .109 hitting—the lowest hitting percentage in the postseason by a Tennessee opponent during the 25-point rallying scoring era. High Point’s 30 kills, 29 assists and 28 digs all marked the second-lowest totals recorded by UT foes in the NCAA Tournament during the 25-point rallying scoring era.
The Lady Vols earned their 18th sweep of the season thanks to the offensive play by the graduate student duo of Morgahn Fingall and Jenaisya Moore. Fingall led all players with 18 kills on .452 hitting in addition to seven digs and two blocks. Moore tallied 17 kills on .533 hitting to go with three digs and three blocks. Redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr rounded out the All-SEC trio’s night with 44 assists, six digs, three blocks and an ace.
Defensively, six different Lady Vols finished with multiple blocks, with sophomore middle blocker Keondreya Granberry pacing UT behind five rejections and four kills. Fellow middle blockers Emily Beeker and Raeven Chase each added a pair of blocks, while Beeker also chipped in four kills on four attacks. On the back row, junior outside hitter Erykah Lovett had 12 digs and six kills, while graduate student libero Yelianiz Torres tallied a match-best 13 digs, two aces and two assists.
Fingall had the hot hand to open the match, recording nine kills on .643 hitting to go along with a pair of digs and two blocks. Kerr had 15 of UT’s 18 assists in the frame, as the Lady Vols hit .333 compared to High Point’s .103. The Big Orange had four blocks in the period to take the early advantage.
Tennessee kept its momentum going in the second stanza, as Moore led the way with six kills to spearhead the offense. The Big Orange held Panthers .121 hitting in the frame, as UT never trailed during the set to go up 2-0 in the contest.
High Point…
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