It just wasn’t in the cards for the Lady Vols in their first road match of the season.
No. 15 Tennessee fell to No. 6 Louisville in consecutive sets, 3-0. The Lady Vols posted a poor .151 hit percentage in the loss.
Tennessee (0-2) has now lost five sets in a row coming off of their match against No. 7 Penn State.
It certainly wasn’t a strong start from the Lady Vols as they dropped the first set to the Cardinals, 25-14.
Tennessee never led during the set as the Cardinals (2-0) appeared well-prepared after their win against No. 3 Wisconsin in the season-opener.
Tennessee only managed a .188 hit percentage, opposed to Louisville’s .650.
The Lady Vols seemed slightly overwhelmed early-on, allowing an early scoring run that set them behind. Having to dig out of that scoring hole resulted in being too much against a stout Louisville offensive attack.
Nina Cajic led the way for the Lady Vols in the kill department during the set with three. The Cardinals had three players with at least three kills.
Set two was competitive and an improvement for Tennessee, but it wasn’t enough, falling 25-22.
Head coach Eve Rackham Watt implemented two liberos into the lineup, a strategy that aided the defensive side of the ball and kept her squad in the game.
The Lady Vols started out much better, taking an early three-point lead. Louisville continued to match Tennessee scoring and eventually gained the lead in the middle of the frame. The scoring advantage swapped hands a number of times, including nine ties, before the Cardinals edged out a three-point advantage at the tail-end of the set.
Emily Beeker came up with some crucial points down the stretch for Tennessee, including a kill and set-tying block that kept her team in striking distance.
The third and deciding set was once again tight, but Louisville won 25-20 to cap off the Cardinals’ sweep.
This frame again saw the Lady Vols jump out to an early lead. Louisville fought back to take a four-point, 12-8, advantage that could’ve been the dagger if not for a five-point run by Tennessee immediately after. Both sides continued to trade blows until a strong finish from the Cardinals ended any hopes of a Lady Vols’ comeback.
It was a return-to-form match for Keondreya Granberry. The junior finished with eight kills, second on the team, and an impressive .889 hit percentage. It will be essential for Tennessee to continue to get this kind of production from the returning starter as the season progresses.
Beeker also had a positive showing, hitting at a .333 clip and finishing third on the team with five kills.
The Lady Vols didn’t want to end the first weekend of the regular season suffering a sweep, but it’s important for a new-look team to continue to mesh. Competing in these early non-conference matchups against some of the nation’s best programs, Tennessee will now focus on UCLA as they welcome the Bruins on Sept. 5.
