NORMAN, Okla. — Behind another strong offensive performance, the No. 9 Tennessee volleyball team picked up the road sweep over Oklahoma (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) on Sunday afternoon at McCasland Field House.
Tennessee (14-3, 5-2) recorded 46 kills on .323 hitting in the victory. The duo of Jalyn Stout and Kennedi Rogers combined for 22 kills, with Stout leading the way with an outstanding .476 hitting percentage. The win marked the team’s 12th sweep of the season, and fourth in conference play. It was a close match throughout, with 23 tie scores in the contest
Chelsea Sutton was next with eight kills, followed by Nia Hall with seven. Caroline Kerr led the offense with 32 assists, while also posting five kills and two blocks. Stout also led the Tennessee effort at the net with five blocks, her first match this season with five or more blocks. The middle blocker pair of Sutton and Anni Tang had four blocks each, with UT finishing with eight as a team. Raegan Burns posted a team-high 10 digs for her 10th double-digit dig outing of the season.
The Sooners (10-6, 3-4) finished with 39 kills on a .224 hitting percentage. Mistakes plagued the home team all matches, with 17 attack errors and nine service errors. After starting the match with a .342 hitting percentage, Oklahoma would struggle in the final two sets with UT’s defense limiting it to .107 hitting in the second and.188 in the third.
Both teams traded points to begin the opening set before Tennessee built a three-point lead. Oklahoma rallied to even the score late, but with the Lady Vols leading 24-23, a kill by Stout secured the set for Tennessee. Rogers led the Lady Vols with six kills in the frame. Rogers had six kills to lead the Lady Vols in the first, while Kerr posted 13 assists.
It was another tight battle in the second. After trailing midway through the set, Tennessee stormed back to take the second set advantage. Once again, Oklahoma mounted a late comeback effort, but kills by Kerr and Sutton put the set away for the Big Orange. UT had 15 kills in the second set on .300 hitting, with Stout and Rogers combining for four kills each. The defense stepped up in the second stanza, with ten digs and three blocks to hold Oklahoma to just nine kills.
The Lady Vols seized control early in third set, using a 7-1 run to build a seven-point lead. Tennessee was able to withstand a late Oklahoma charge to close out the sweep. The Tennessee defense did just enough to limit the Sooners offense in the final frame, with another three blocks and forcing seven attack errors. Stout closed out her match with six kills, while Hall followed with four kills of her own.
Up next, the Lady Vols return home for a midweek contest against Kentucky on Wednesday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with the match televised on SEC Network.
