Tennessee volleyball wrapped up its non-conference slate on Friday night with its fourth straight win and a sweep over Kennesaw State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18).
The No. 24 Lady Vols’ final tuneup of the early season revealed a few more things about the team heading into the SEC opener.
After nearly dropping the first set, Tennessee fought to keep its set win streak alive and moved to 11 consecutive set wins. The Lady Vols got a big effort out of Starr Williams and Paityn Chapman to rally past some miscommunications and an early Owls lead.
A 5-0 run late in the first set not only helped Tennessee to the comeback win, but set the tone for the rest of the match. The Lady Vols opened things up on the scoreboard in the second and third sets.
Tennessee once again had its top four scorers notch 10 or more kills. Williams and Chapman, accompanied by Hayden Kubik and Chelsea Sutton, all dominated the net against the Owls.
After the early struggles, Tennessee settled in and played to its strengths to put Kennesaw State away in dominant fashion. The Lady Vols now have a clearer idea of where they can continue to improve because of the early adversity.
Even with the comeback in the first set and the match sweep, the Lady Vols couldn’t hold down some of Kennesaw State’s top hitters. Manu Johnsen and Olivia Burrage collected a combined 18 kills on 39 attacks.
Middle blockers Sutton and Zoe Humphrey have been a big reason for the physicality at the net, combining for 65 blocks this season while notching another against Kennesaw State. The pair, along with senior Gulce Gucetkin, have rounded into form defensively as the season has progressed, and will look to take the next step in conference play.
Gucetkin is the only player on the team to have appeared in every set so far this season, racking up 121 digs and 102 attacks through nonconference play alone.
Along with veteran junior Caroline Kerr leading the Lady Vols’ defense, Tennessee will get its next real test as conference play ramps up. Kerr has been the vocal leader of the team and has been flexible with rotations as head coach Eve Rackham Watt has cycled through several different lineups.
Kerr logged another 20 assists against the Owls while also picking up four blocks and three digs. She now has 254 assists for the season and continues to play an integral role in the defensive scheme for the Lady Vols.
Tennessee opens up SEC play against Georgia on Sep. 24.
