KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Redshirt-junior setter Caroline Kerr delivered another outstanding performance thanks to her 14th career double-double for the Lady Vols win against Wofford (22-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-11) at Food City Center.
Tennessee (2-1) played a well-rounded match to advance over Wofford (0-4) in four sets on Thursday evening.
Kerr collected 41 assists, 13 digs, five kills and a career-high five blocks during the win. Sophomore opposite hitter Paityn Chapman and redshirt-senior outside/opposite hitter Starr Williams led the Tennessee offense with 13 kills each, adding to the team-high total of 56. The contest marks Willams’s first double-digit match as a Lady Vol.
Senior libero Gülce Güçtekin reached a season-high of 20 digs while also totaling five assists. Redshirt-freshman middle blocker Zoë Humphrey put up a career-high of seven blocks to go along with four kills, two assists and one dig.
The Big Orange had multiple players filling up the scoresheet in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Chelsea Sutton tallied nine kills on .438 hitting, four blocks and one dig, while junior outside hitter Mackenzie Plante added 12 digs, nine kills, two assists and one ace. Senior outside hitter Brynn Williams gave four digs, three kills, one assist and one block of her own.
With a total of four missed serves, the Lady Vols fell short (25-22) in the first stanza. The Big Orange outhit Wofford 15-13 and finished the set with 15 digs compared to the Terriers 11. Chapman led offensively with five kills to go along with two digs.
The Lady Vols bounced-back in the second frame with a strong performance to close (25-13). Tennessee dominated on offense, with Chapman, Williams and Sutton each tallying four kills for the team’s 15 on the set. The Big Orange defense held Wofford to only five kills, and added another 21 digs and three blocks.
After a 5-0 scoring run to make it 12-2, Tennessee took the third frame with another successful offensive effort. The Lady Vols collected 12 more kills, four from Plante, as Chapman followed with three. Thanks to a strong defensive effort of 18 digs and five blocks, Wofford was held to six kills on -.083 hitting and only 16 points.
Tennessee closed the match with a 25-11 finish. Williams stepped up for the Lady Vols with seven kills in the frame. The Terriers struggled to match-up with Tennessee’s defense once again, finishing with only three kills on .-067 hitting.
Up next, the Lady Vols are right back in action Friday with a double-header. Tennessee will play Stamford at 1:00 p.m. and Winthrop at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed on SECN+.
