TEMPE, Ariz. — Tennessee volleyball was able to force a fifth set after dropping the first two sets, but came up short as it fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Utah State at Desert Financial Arena (19-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-18, 11-15).
Tennessee (20-8, 10-5 SEC) finished the match with 59 kills and 56 assists in the match. On the defensive side, the Lady Vols had 62 digs and nine blocks. The Lady Vols had eight aces in the contest, tying a program record in a NCAA Tournament match that last happened against Alabama A&M on Dec. 3, 2010. Utah State (24-7, 18-0 Mountain West) recorded 68 kills and 65 assists, while adding 62 digs and nine blocks.
Starr Williams led the team with 15 kills, tallying seven digs, four blocks, and two aces. Williams had her fourth-straight match with double figure kills and 11th of the season. Sydney Jones and Hayden Kubik each notched 12 kills, with Jones tying her season-high. Kubik reached double-digits in kills for the 24th time on the year, capping a season in which the senior led the team in kills (390), kill per set (4.19), points (431), and points per set (4.63).
Caroline Kerr had another 40-plus assist match with 43, and reached her 11th double-double with 11 digs. Kerr finished the season with 945 assists. Kerr currently ranks sixth in program history with 3,259 assists in her career, while also ranking sixth in program history in assists per set at 10.65.
Gülce Güçtekin led the team with 16 digs, followed closely by Maggie Dostic with 14. Klaudia Pawlik had a team high five blocks, while Chelsea Sutton finished with four. Güçtekin had her 12th match with 15 or more digs, with the senior libero leading the Lady Vols with 408 digs on the 2025 campaign.
Utah State took the early advantage in the match, taking the first set. The Aggies gained the momentum thanks to 17 kills and a .382 hitting percentage. The Aggies extended their lead to two sets to none, notching 19 kills on .444 hitting to Tennessee’s 10 kills and .171 hitting percentage.
Tennessee extended the match, battling back from an early deficit to take the third set. Sutton led the team in the third with three kills, with Kerr assisting nine of the team’s 11 kills. Kerr and Dostic led the team with three digs, with Williams and Sutton leading the charge at the net with two blocks each.
The Lady Vols would take the momentum into the fourth set, leading for the entire frame to send the match to the fifth. Jones had a team leading seven kills in the set on an impressive .545 hitting percentage. Kerr had another 14 assists for the team while Dostic led the bunch with four digs. Both teams battled early in the fifth set, but Utah State would use a pair of runs to take go ahead. Tennessee would get within one, but Utah State took the final three points in the match to earn the win.
