Tennessee volleyball loses to Texas A&M in five sets

Tennessee (10-9, 3-7 SEC) lost to Texas A&M 3-2 on Friday night inside Reed Arena in College Station. The loss gives the Vols a two-game losing streak. In addition, the loss gives the Aggies its eighth straight win over Tennessee.

Texas A&M (7-10, 4-6 SEC) won the opening set 25-17. The Lady Vols were able to stay on pace with the Aggies early, as there were 10 ties by the time the score was 13-13 in the set. The Aggies led 15-13 in the set before heading into a media timeout. Tennessee was unable to regain any momentum coming out of the break, and Texas A&M pulled away to win the first set.

The Vols took control of the second set 25-15 to even the match at 1-1. Tennessee was strong defensively with a total of five team blocks. The Lady Vols were able to limit the Aggies to only eight team kills in the set, compared to the 16 team kills they had in the first set. In addition, the home side committed five serving errors to allow Tennessee to take control of the set.

The Aggies would take the third set 25-21 to lead the match 2-1. Texas A&M’s offense stepped up with 15 team kills. They were led in attack by Hollann Hans who had 13 kills behind 43 attacks after three sets.

Tennessee won a thrilling fourth set 25-23 to send the match into a decisive fifth set. In a set that featured 11 ties and eight matches, the score would remain close until the very end. At 23-23, the Aggies looked to have earned match point off an attack error by sophomore Tessa Grubbs, but a touch was called on Texas A&M to give Tennessee match point. At 24-23 in the set, Grubbs picked up her second kill in-a-row to give the Vols the fourth set.

Texas A&M outlasted Tennessee to win the fifth set. At 14-13 in the set, Grubbs had a kill to save Texas A&M’s match point to even the set at 14-14. Ultimately, an attacking error by freshman Madison Coulter, and a blocking error by sophomore Alyssa Andreno gave the Aggies two easy points to close out the set 16-14.

Despite the loss, Tennessee put up a strong defensive display with 17 total team blocks. Andreno led the team in blocking with nine blocks. On offense, Grubbs led the team with 12 kills behind 48 attacks.

Tennessee will look to bounce back, as they head to Baton Rouge for its third match in-a-row on the road. The Lady Vols are set to take on LSU on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The match will air at 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ and WatchESPN.

Edited by Ben McKee

Feature image courtesy of UT Sports