AUBURN, Ala. — No. 11 Tennessee captured its first conference win with a road sweep over Auburn (25-19, 25-18, 25-13) at Neville Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Big Orange (10-3, 1-2 SEC) got off to a fast start and kept the momentum throughout, earning their ninth sweep of the season. Tennessee outhit the host Tigers (11-4, 1-2 SEC) .300 to .111 in the contest, while also outpacing them in kills (49-32), assists (44-30), blocks (10-3), and digs (58-49).
Kennedi Rogers led the way with her 10th double figure kill performance with 15 and added 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Caroline Kerr joined in on the double-double action on Sunday, with 34 assists and 13 digs for her 29th of her collegiate career. Jalyn Stout posted her seventh double-digit kill outing, recording 11 to go along with eight digs.
The middle blocker pair of Chelsea Sutton and Anni Tang combined for 14 kills in the win, with Sutton pacing the team with seven blocks. Raegan Burns had another strong performance in the back row, tying Kerr for a team-high 13 digs. The Lady Vol defense stifled the Auburn attack all match, forcing the Tigers into 19 attack errors.
Tennessee came out firing in the first set, with a big offensive performance leading to a 25-19 victory. UT tallied 18 kills in the first set, led by Rogers with six. The floor defense was on full display in the opening set, with Tennessee logging 22 digs to get the match started.
The Lady Vols fell behind early in the second set but came back to take a two-point lead midway through the set. A 7-1 run put Tennessee in complete control as it took a two-set lead. Stout led the attack with five kills, while Sutton keyed the defensive effort with three blocks.
It was all Lady Vols in the third, as Tennessee dominated the final set of the match to secure the road victory. Tennessee was in full command in the third, finishing with 17 kills and a .435 hitting percentage. The defense held the Tigers’ attack in check to close the match, holding them to just nine kills and a .083 hitting percentage to clinch the sweep.
Up next, the Lady Vols return to Rocky Top for a pair of SEC matches, beginning Friday against Ole Miss. The match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
