After a devastating loss at home against LSU on Friday, the Tennessee volleyball team (9-7, 3-3 SEC) came back to win against Mississippi State (11-7, 0-5 SEC) in straight sets (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) on Sunday.
“Our team talked with each other and, I think, figured out a few things,” head coach Eve Rackham said. “Just being able to have a really direct conversation about what they needed from each other, I felt like that was obvious today. They came out on the same page.”
The Lady Vols got an early lead that was sparked even further when Morgahn Fingall delivered a massive kill and Tessa Grubbs dominated offensively in the beginning of the first set. A set from Sendona Hansen to Lily Felts was just what Tennessee needed to finish the first strong.
While the second set didn’t start off as strong, Grubbs pushed hard against the Bulldogs, tying the game back up. She was followed by Fingall to tallied five kills to bring the score to 8-6. Danielle Mahaffey kept the lead for the Lady Vols with a kill that set the remaining of the second in motion, as Tennessee came back and rallied for another 25-15 victory.
The third set proved to be the biggest challenge for the Lady Vols. However, Alyssa Andreno quickly stepped up to the plate to push her team towards their victory. A big block from Fingall and Addisyn Rowe kept Tennessee in the game, tying the score at 15. MSU got back on top before the Lady Vols came from behind to produce a comeback win of 25-23.
“We’ll continue to point at this weekend as kind of a turning point for our players,” said Rackham. “After a really though Friday night to be able to bounce back and win is harder than people realize, to be able to do that from an emotional standpoint. I think our team grew up a little bit this weekend and hopefully going forward we can use this as a reference for some more positive play.”
Three Tennessee players walked away from the game with double-digit kills, Lily Felts (11), Alyssa Andreno (10), and Tessa Grubbs (10). Andreno also tallied four blocks and Felts delivered the only ace of the match.
Hansen had 22 assists and 10 digs throughout the three sets. Kailey Keeble wasn’t far behind her with 21 assists.
“We know what we need to do,” explained Tessa Grubbs. “It’s an ‘all on us’ kind of thing. We set and control the tone and we needed to come back and take that over and bring this team back.”
The Lady Vols will play next on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in Thompson Boling arena against the Kentucky Wildcats.
