By Abby Doperak
The Tennessee Lady Vols recorded their fourth consecutive sweep Tuesday night, defeating Illinois in the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge.
Illinois entered the match after most recently sweeping Syracuse, as the No. 22 Lady Vols entered to build on their success from last weekend’s Tennessee Tournament, where they beat Colgate, Morehead State and Fairfield.
Illinois opened the first set with the first point, quickly followed by a Tennessee response. The teams traded points until the Lady Vols secured the lead and held it through the remainder of the set at 6-4. Tennessee led by as many as five points before winning the opening set, 25-19, after successfully challenging a set-point call that was reversed.
“I think we gel really well together,” Lady Vol setter and opposite hitter Jalyn Stout said. “I think we have a lot of options…so I think that’s very hard to defend when you have shots coming at you from everywhere.”
The Lady Vols recorded the first point of the second set, continuing the momentum from the opening frame. Tennessee allowed Illinois to take its highest lead of the night at 6-4 before regaining the advantage at 8-7 and never relinquishing it.
Tennessee continued to build its lead, eventually securing the second set at 25-17.
The third set began with Tennessee again recording the first point. Illinois never took the lead as the Lady Vols dominated the final set of the match. As Tennessee moved closer to securing the victory, the Lady Vols reached 20 points before Illinois reached double digits.
Tennessee completed the sweep with a 25-11 victory in the third set.
“I think we did really well adjusting super-fast,” Stout said. “I think in the first set we let them go on runs and we didn’t go on as many runs. And then in the second set, we went on more runs and stopped their runs. And in the third set we really just took off.”
The victory marked Tennessee’s fourth consecutive sweep and extended the Lady Vols’ record to 4-0.
“Overall, it’s been a total team effort,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “But I think the big thing is just that our offense has been clicking.”
Several Lady Vols stood out on the stat sheet. Kennedi Rogers recorded 14 kills, while Maggie Dostic added 11. Stout finished with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Caroline Kerr recorded 38 assists.
“Jay and Maggie are super, super high I.Q. kids,” Rackham Watt said. “They’ve both got great vision. I think what makes them unique is they just see the block so well…They don’t have to be in the perfect situation to score.”
The Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge also marked the return of former Lady Vol Paityn Chapman, who is playing her first season at Illinois. Chapman recorded nine kills against her former team.
The Lady Vols were fueled by an energetic crowd at Food City Center, where 8,212 fans attended the match, setting a new program attendance record.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” Dostic said. “So, it was really easy to be fired up.”
The previous record of 7,924 was set against Colgate just four days earlier.
The Lady Vols will look to continue their success when they return to the court Sunday to face Indiana during the Broadway Block Party at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.