By Gabriel Daniel
Photo By Emma Corona/Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_VBall on X)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- It was pure domination for No. 10 Tennessee (21-3, 12-2) on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena with its fourteenth sweep of the year in a victory over Ole Miss (10-16, 4-11).
The Lady Vols started hot, winning the first set by a staggering score of 25-7. Coach Eve Rackham Watt thought the work at the service line from Yelianiz Torres was instrumental in the first set.
“Once one server kinda gets hot it helps everyone go back to the service line and I think El was really the key to that set as we just served really well, took Ole Miss out of their offense, and go on some runs,” Rackham Watt said.
During the first set, the Lady Vols went on an 11-point run with Torres serving, and the Rebels were unable to recover. The Lady Vols finished the set with a .654 hitting percentage.
Tennessee used the momentum garnered in the first set to take the subsequent sets 25-19 and 25-18.
Offense was the name of the game for the Lady Vols, finishing with a season-best .462 hitting percentage and 49 kills to the Rebels’ 27. Redshirt freshman setter Caroline Kerr was vital in setting up her teammates with good looks.
“Our back row did a great job digging balls, we got some good touches and so we were able to score in transition and that’s obviously a credit to our hitters being available and getting themselves in spots to make them successful,” Kerr said.
Everyone was involved in scoring for the Lady Vols. Erykah Lovett and Jenaisya Moore both had double digit kills while Morgahn Fingall and Raeven Chase came in with nine apiece.
The Lady Vols travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU Friday. First serve is at 8 p.m. ET and the game will stream on SEC Network plus.