After a close loss to Georgia last week, the Lady Vols (2-3, 2-3) bounced back to upset the #15 South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 3-2) in four sets (25-7, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20).
Tennessee’s starting seven included Natalie Hayward, Rocky Perinar, Madison Bryant, Lily Felts, Ava Bell, Danielle Mahaffey, and Madison Coulter at libero.
The Lady Vols made quick work of set one, jumping to a 10-2 lead quickly, forcing a Gamecock timeout. South Carolina couldn’t pull it together and allowed Tennessee to take a 20-4 lead before finishing the match 25-7.
“I think they had a hard time handling our service pressure and then our blocks showed up pretty big,” explained head coach Eve Rackham. “We weren’t giving them anything from the defensive end. We put them in some hard situations and they couldn’t convert on the offensive end. Once we got away from them a little bit the lead opened up pretty substantially. You don’t see too many sets like that in volleyball.”
Unfortunately for Tennessee, set two didn’t come as easy. Felts managed to keep Tennessee in the game with back-to-back kills early. While serving errors and Mahaffey and Felts’ kills kept the set close, the Gamecocks went on an eight-point run to take the lead. Tennessee never managed to bounce back and South Carolina took the set 25-20.
“It’s a scary thing when you start off beating a team like that because as a coach you’ve seen it enough that usually the next set tends to go the other way.” stated Rackham. “I feel like we went into the second set a little comfortable and too confident. I jumped on them pretty good about it and just emphasized getting back to doing what we do and competing and having that sense of urgency.”
Bell started off set three strong with a kill that set the tone for a solid Lady Vols lead. Continued attacks from Felts, Perinar, and Bell put pressure on South Carolina and despite the Gamecocks’ best efforts to comeback, Tennessee took the set 25-20.
“In the huddle we said ‘It’s zero to zero, we each have a set and we’re starting over from the beginning and coming out to do exactly what we planned on doing,’” explained Felts. “I think the reason we didn’t do as well in the second is because we went away from what we had been training for all week. We got back to our game plan and executed it just like we did in the first set.”
With both teams desperate for a win in set four, it was a strong back-and-forth early on. Combined kills from Mahaffey, Hayward, and Jasmine Brooks put Tennessee on a six-point run before South Carolina had the chance to rebound.
Bell and Brooks’ consecutive kills late in the fourth prevented the Gamecocks from taking a lead. A few attack errors and a kill from Mahaffey put Tennessee in a rhythm to finish the set on top, defeating South Carolina 25-20.
“The turnaround is so fast and the losing team is going to come back with a little bit more fire and competitiveness,” explained Rackham. “I think it’s really about the mindset of going into the match the same way you go into the first one. It is a challenge but having that experience of winning the first match last week should help us this week.”
The Lady Vols play the Gamecocks again tomorrow, November 7, at 5 p.m. ET at Thompson Boling Arena for senior night . The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
