Lady Vols defeat #22 Auburn in four sets – Great

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the third time this season, the 10th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols were victorious against a ranked foe, beating No. 22 Auburn 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Friday night.
 
Playing in front of the fourth-largest crowd in program history at 2,575, the Big Orange (16-1, 7-0 SEC) has now won 11 matches in a row and 21 of 23 sets in conference play. Two Lady Vols finished with double-doubles as UT outlasted the Tigers (14-4, 4-3 SEC) in a contest that featured 11 lead changes and 25 ties.
 
As a team, Tennessee outhit Auburn .231 to .122 and won the battle in kills (59-41), assists (51-35), digs (73-55) and aces (3-2). The Tigers found success at the net, finishing with 14 blocks compared to UT’s seven.
 
Graduate right side hitter Morgahn Fingall led the way with another all-around performance, finishing with 21 kills, 12 digs and three blocks for her third double-double of the season. Junior outside hitter Erykah Lovett recorded her fifth double-double on the year and her fourth in SEC play, tallying a team-high 17 digs, 13 kills, two blocks and one assist.
 
Graduate student outside hitter Jenaisya Moore rounded out the Lady Vols with double-digit kills, recording 13 to go along with seven digs. Sophomore middle blocker Keondreya Granberry barely missed the mark, posting nine kills on .467 hitting, five blocks and two digs on the night. Redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr finished with 45 assists, nine digs and two blocks.
 
In addition to Fingall and Lovett notching double-digit digs, graduate student libero Yelianiz Torres added 16 digs to go along with five assists, one ace and one kill. Junior defensive specialist Abby Ekeler rounded things out for UT, leading the way on both sides with two aces to go with three digs.
 
Auburn led early in the opening set, but the Lady Vols rallied with a 11-3 run to storm ahead. However, the Tigers responded with a run of their own to pull within two points at 20-18. Despite the late push, UT halted the rally and finished out the frame on a 5-1 swing to get the early advantage. Fingall had six kills to pace the offense, while the Big Orange defense held Auburn to .000 hitting in the set.
 
The lone frame in which the Tigers won came in the second set, as Auburn posted a sideout percentage of 72 to keep Tennessee from going on a run. Part of the issue came from self-inflicted wounds by the Lady Vols, who had six attacking errors and six service errors in the frame.
 
Five lead changes and 11 ties were the storyline of a tight battle in the third period. Both teams were even for the majority of the frame, but it was a late 4-0 run following a timeout by UT that pulled the momentum back in the Big Orange’s favor.
 
That was evident in the fourth and final frame, as UT jumped out to a quick 9-2 advantage that saw the Tigers call both timeouts during the stretch. Four points was as close as Auburn would cut the Tennessee lead to during the set, as UT cruised to the victory. The Big Orange defense held the Tigers to .030 hitting and posted 18 digs and three blocks in the period. All three of UT’s aces for the match came during the set, while Fingall led the offense with six kills.
 
Up next, the Lady Vols are back in action Sunday with a 5 p.m. first serve against the 23rd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Food City Center. That contest will be televised on SEC Network.
 

For fans who have tickets to Saturday’s football game between Tennessee and Texas A&M, you can use your tickets to get into the match. All you need to do is go to the ticket window at Food City Center, show them your football ticket, and you will receive a complimentary ticket to the match. With Sunday’s match, the ticket may disappear from your wallet, so fans will need to go to “expired passes” within the Apple or Android wallet and click on expired passes to be able to pull up the football ticket.