Knoxville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Lady Vols opened their season with a straight-set sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) over Texas State on Friday night at Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center, marking the first win in the newly rebranded arena.
Graduate student Morgahn Fingall led UT (1-0) in kills, tallying 13. As a team, the Lady Vols poured on 47 kills while hitting .320.
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, the Big Orange powered a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead en route to a 25-19 win. The Lady Vols tallied 16 kills behind Fingall with six, while graduate student Jenaisya Moore collected four and sophomore Keondreya Granberry totaled three.
The Lady Vols continued their success in the second frame, taking a 25-18 decision. Junior Erykah Lovett found the floor with seven kills in the set, while Fingall added four more to her total.
Tennessee closed out the sweep with a 25-15 win in the third. Texas State (1-1) took a 2-1 lead early, but that would be their last as UT dominated the remainder of the set thanks to Granberry’s team-leading four kills in the frame. Tennessee cranked up the pressure from the service line with three service aces in the set, including two from redshirt freshman Caroline Kerr.
Three Lady Vols made their debut in Orange and White on Friday, including Kerr who tallied a team-high 34 assists, and Moore who powered nine kills. Graduate transfer Yelianiz Torres also made her Lady Vol debut and led the Tennessee backline with 13 digs.
Lovett and Granberry tied Moore’s kill total, finishing right behind Fingall with nine kills. Redshirt sophomore Klaudia Pawlik also joined in on the action, tallying five kills on five attempts.
Tennessee junior Ashlynn King collected four service aces – a new career high. Kerr also tallied two, expanding on her impressive UT debut.
Up Next
The Lady Vols will wrap up the Tennessee Classic with two matches on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET against Marist. UT will then face UT Martin at 6:30 p.m. ET in the tournament’s finale.
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