Tennessee fell in five sets to Purdue (25-14, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-15) on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. With the loss, Tennessee’s season comes to an end.
“It was two great teams playing each other,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “Unfortunately, it had to be in the first round. But I think we played great, I thought Purdue played great, congratulations to them. I thought the match could have gone either way.”
Morgahn Fingall led the Lady Vols with 25 kills on .333 hitting. Keondreya Granberry had nine kills on .500 hitting. Tennessee hit .222 as a team.
“Talking about Morgahn is fun because it has been such an evolution to watch her grow up from her freshman year to her senior year,” Rackham Watt said. “The level of player she’s become, one of the best opposites in the country just carries us match after match. Not a lot of opposites are playing six rotations, and she’s done that all year long. She’s been a go-to for us, as well as one of our captains and leaders.”
The Lady Vols came out firing in the first set, winning 25-14. Tennessee dominated the set from start to finish, hitting .432 and putting down 17 kills. Fingall led the charge with seven kills, hitting .700.
The Lady Vols had 19 digs in the first set and held the Boilermakers to a .154 hitting.
Set two went exactly the opposite for the Lady Vols, as they dropped the set 14-25. Tennessee was outkilled 16-10.
Set three was a lot scrappier than the first two. Purdue rattled off an 8-1 run in set three to tie the set up at 18 a piece.
Ashlynn King made sure Tennesee wouldn’t lose the set, getting a crucial dig and serving the final three points as the Lady Vols finished on a 4-0 run to take the set 25-22.
Fingall was up to 15 kills at the end of set three. Tennessee hit .079 in the third set compared to Purdue’s .029.
Set four saw Purdue come out victorious 25-22. The Lady Vols out-killed the Boilermakers 16-15, but Purdue was much more efficient hitting at .343.
Tennessee couldn’t overcome Purdue’s early lead in set five and fell 15-11. The Lady Vols fought back in the end, winning a challenge and gaining momentum, but it wasn’t enough.
“Both of us had really, really good moments and both of us had moments where we weren’t as good, but credit to them for the way they played in the fifth (set),” Rackham Watt said. “We had some chances for sure, and our serve and pass game broke down a little bit, so I think that’s probably where the game was lost.”
The Lady Vols fought until the end. For a team that played most of the season with its back against the wall, Friday was nothing new. With the loss, the Lady Vols finish the roller coaster 2022 campaign 17-14 (11-7).
“I think tonight was like a perfect way to describe almost the entire year,” Natalie Hayward said. ”We’ve been really good, and we’ve had our moments, but it’s kind of been just a roller coaster all year.”
