#22 Lady Vols Sweep Georgia In SEC Opener

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 22-ranked Tennessee Volleyball team earned its fifth-consecutive sweep, opening SEC play with a dominating win against Georgia (25-19, 26-24, 25-20) on Wednesday at Food City Center. 

Tennessee (10-1, 1-0) outshone the Bulldogs (8-3, 0-1) in the evening, collecting 45 assisted kills, to finish with 49 total. Senior outside hitter Hayden Kubik and redshirt-junior setter Caroline Kerr each put on impressive performances in the contest, both notching double-doubles in the match. Kubik finished the contest as the leader in kills with 13, to go along with 10 digs, one ace and two blocks. Kerr provided 36 assists, 12 digs and five kills. 

Sophomore opposite hitter Paityn Chapman went all-out for the Lady Vols, tallying 12 kills and four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Chelsea Sutton racked up 11 kills and four blocks. Redshirt-senior outside/opposite hitter Starr Williams achieved 750 kills on her first swing of the night, while rounding out the match with four kills, two blocks and one dig. 

Tennessee held Georgia to 36 kills on a .170 hitting percentage, as the team completed 50 digs and nine total blocks. Senior libero Gülce Güçtekin clutched 12 digs, five assists and one ace. The Big Orange only allowed five lead changes during the entire match.

The first frame was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams making plays until Georgia could not come back from the Big Orange’s early 5-1 run. Kubik delivered seven kills on .545 hitting for Tennessee, while Chapman followed closely with four. Kerr got her night off strong, picking up 12 assists, four digs and two sneaky kills of her own to add to the Lady Vols’ total of 17. 

Tennessee fought to keep the lead in the second stanza, as the Bulldogs picked up a 5-0 scoring run to go up 17-16. After 10 tie scores and four lead changes, Chapman finally called it after back-to-back kills to end the set 26-24, Tennessee. Chapman and Kubik led with four kills and two blocks each, along with five digs from Kubik. Kerr put up nine assists, five digs and three more kills. Güçtekin made big plays for the Tennessee defense from her four digs, along with Humphrey, who provided four blocks. 

The Lady Vols took that momentum into the third set, opening on a 7-1 scoring run. Sutton added six kills and three blocks to her statline, with Chapman adding four kills and two blocks of her own. Kerr capped off her outing with 15 assists, guiding Tennessee to 15 kills on the set. The 16 digs, five of which came from Güçtekin, and six team blocks rounded out the Big Orange’s strong performance. 

Up next, the Lady Vols continue SEC play, hosting South Carolina at Food City Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m.. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.