Sophomore Paityn Chapman made a play in the second set of action that Lady Vols head coach Eve Rackham Watt credited as a “set-saving play,” despite it not appearing in the stat sheet postgame.
Tennessee volleyball persisted against a tough Auburn team that gave a fight for all three sets, sweeping the Tigers 3-0 and bouncing back into the win column.
The second set served as a pivotal point in the game as the Lady Vols trailed for a majority of the round before a late-set surge boosted them ahead.
“Paityn made a play in the second set that won’t go on the stat book, but it was probably set-saving,” Rackham Watt said. “The touch that she had when she was on one against their outside hitter.”
Chapman finished her day with just three kills on 18 attacks, but Rackham Watt was looking for an impact beyond the numbers, especially on the defensive side.
As a team, the Lady Vols outblocked Auburn nine to seven over three sets. Zoe Humphrey led the way with four assisted blocks.
“I didn’t think the block showed up the way it needed to against Florida,” Rackham Watt said. “And I think that was different today. I thought they did a really nice job. Chelsea (Sutton) and Zoe did an excellent job.”
The ability to hold firm defensively against the SEC is something that the coaching staff has been hammering home to the team. And it proved in situations such as Sunday’s against Auburn, where a few blocks serve as the difference between a win and a loss, even during a sweep.
Each round finished just two points from one another, allowing more reassurance to Rackham Watt and company that this conference isn’t a walk in the park.
Even with the competition, Sunday was an example of what it looks like when the Lady Vols play “freely” as a team, as both Rackham Watt and Sutton described postgame.
“We found more of a groove,” Sutton said. “We kind of like had more fun on the court. We started lightening the load a little bit, and then we allowed ourselves to feel that lightness and then we got back to grounding it out again.”
If there was a moment that marked the switch, it was the second half of set two, which saw the Lady Vols earn their first lead of the set at the 20-19 mark before eventually winning 25-23.
“I told the team that we needed to start having a little bit of fun,” Rackham Watt said. “We’ve got to just kind of relax a little bit, and this is how we’re going to learn how to be great, coming back against a good team, being down on a set, learning how to win. They really just needed to settle in.”
In a game where it seemed not one single player out-worked the other on the stat sheet, there were still well-rounded performances from players like Sutton, Hayden Kubik and Mackenzie Plante that helped push the Lady Vols over the top on Sunday.
The Lady Vols look to continue to look for more fun on the court when it hits the road for a meeting against Alabama on Oct. 24.
“I think that just all around, keeping the vibes up on the court,” Sutton said. “We’re not all freaking out, ‘Oh my God, this is happening,’ We’re just like ‘This is fun, it’s a game, we’re here to play,’ and I think it allows us to be more creative.”
