By Lily Helton
Lady Vol volleyball has been on the road.
Playing midweek games, having quick turnarounds in practice, and long travel days have taken a toll on the team. They dropped their first game of the season to a very good No. 2 Pitt team on Wednesday and looked tired and defeated. But this afternoon in Food City Center, their offense looked untouchable.
Jalyn Stout shines against former school
The true shining star of the game was Coastal Carolina transfer Jalyn Stout. Stout led the team in kills with 17 and 18.5 points created. She served an ace on set point in the second to give her team the win, and stacked 3 kills late in the third set to give her team a comfortable 10-point lead. Setter Caroline Kerr fed her the ball, and Stout put on a show for her former team.
“As much as I want to say, oh, I don’t care, it’s my old school, but obviously there’s a little bit of fire in me there,” Stout said.
Offensive production all over the court
Even with Stout’s dominance, the rest of the team did not fly under the radar, though. The team had a combined 51 kills compared to Coastal Carolina’s 26. Jolene Oddo dominated at the net, finishing with nine kills and three blocks. Maggie Docstic had a quietly amazing afternoon, finishing with seven kills and seven digs. Kerr finished with 40 assists and four kills of her own.
“I think we remembered who we are,” said Stout.
Kennedi Rodgers had a slow offensive start at the beginning of sets one and two. As the match went on, she found her groove and was used as a back-row attacker, finishing with 10 kills, the second-highest of the afternoon.
“Once Kennedi got going, I feel like that was the difference maker,” says Tennessee head coach Eve Rackham Watt.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols are on the road again on Tuesday, playing Queens in North Carolina at 5:30 p.m. ET. This team has not had a chance to slow down, to regroup, or to look at the schedule moving forward. But they are confident that they can overcome the grind and continue to produce offensively.
“Our team doesn’t complain,” said Stout. “Time to get back in the gym and get back to work.”