#10 Lady Vols Deliver Senior Day Sweep Against Alabama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — #10 Tennessee closed out its final home match of the regular-season with a dominant three-set win (25-17, 25-17, 25-18) over Alabama on Senior Day at Food City Center.

Seniors Nia Hall, Caroline Kerr, McKenzie Plante, and Sydney Jaynes were honored before the match.

With the win, the Lady Vols finish their home schedule with an 11-1 record, including a 6-1 mark against conference opponents.

As a team, Tennessee (18-5, 9-4 SEC) finished with 43 kills, 41 assists, and six aces on a .340 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Lady Vols posted 42 digs and 10 blocks. Kennedi Rogers led the way with 15 kills on a ,400 hitting percentage, followed by Jalyn Stout who contributed 10 kills and 11 digs for her 77th career double-double

The Crimson Tide (9-13, 1-12 SEC) finished the contest with 28 kills on .110 hitting. Alabama also added 33 digs, 26 assists and seven blocks. Tennessee’s defense stifled the Alabama offense all afternoon, forcing 18 attack errors.
After trading scores and tying twice to start the first set, Tennessee took control over Alabama and never looked back. The Lady Vols took a commanding lead midway through the set with a 10-point advantage at 17-7. Dominating the net, five Lady Vols recorded at least one block, including Chelsea Sutton, whose four blocks led the team in the opening frame. Offensively, the Big Orange was led by Rogers, who recorded eight of the team’s 13 kills.
 
The second set was no different than the first as Tennessee controlled the pace. The Lady Vols jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second frame, featuring three kills from Rogers and one from Stout. Sitting at 7-4, Tennessee scored five unanswered points to take its largest lead of the period at 12-4. Alabama cut the deficit to only four points at 17-13, but the Big Orange proved too strong as Tennessee pulled away with the set. Back-to-back blocks gave Tennessee another eight-point lead at 22-14 before Stout closed out the period with a perfectly placed tip over the net. 

A hard-fought third set saw six ties before either team reached 10 points, but a 4-0 Tennessee run provided the cushion the Lady Vols needed to pull away. The back and forth play continued down the stretch of the third period before Tennessee got ahead for another 10-point lead. Alabama fought, but Maggie Dostic slammed the door shut with the final kill of the match. Stout led the offense to close the match, finishing the set with four kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting. Kerr contributed 12 assists in the period, as well as a kill. 

Up next, UT will embark on its final road trip of the regular-season as it faces Georgia and South Carolina. The Lady Vols are set for a 7 p.m. start against the Bulldogs on Friday and will close out the season with a 1 p.m. contest against the Gamecocks on Sunday. Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network+.