The Lady Vols drop road game at No. 25 Missouri in four sets
The Lady Vols responded in the third set to avoid a sweep but fell in the fourth set after their offense struggled for the majority of the game.
The Lady Vols (9-8, 3-4 SEC) faced off against No. 25 Missouri (11-4, SEC 3-2) in Columbia.
The first set began with Sophomore Danielle Mahaffey delivering a series of kills that brought the Lady Vols within two points of the nationally ranked Tigers, who had started off the set on a 4-1 run.
Also, Tessa Grubbs continued the assault by adding four kills of her own in the first set. The Lady Vols then hit a dry spell and dropped the first set 25-14.
The Lady Vols started the second set with a combination of kills by sophomore Lily Felts and freshman Morgahn Fingall to take a quick lead over the Tigers. The score was tied four different times throughout the set.
The Lady Vols fought hard as Grubbs, who was on her way to double digit kills for the night, brought the team back to within one point. However, service errors committed by the Lady Vols down the stretch allowed the Tigers to take the second set 25-16.
In the third set the Lady Vols made the necessary adjustments and leapt out to an early 7-2 lead. The team had a hitting percentage of .552 on 17 kills. They also limited one of the best serving teams in the country to only 16 kills with a hitting percentage of .344, which was the Tigers’ lowest of the night. Moreover, the Lady Vols capitalized on the five errors committed by the Tigers and took the third set 25-18.
The fourth set began with both teams exchanging leads. Unfortunately, the Lady Vols struggled offensively and dropped the final set 25-14.
The Lady Vols (9-9, 3-5 SEC) will hit the road again to face South Carolina (11-8, 3-4 SEC) on Oct. 25. The Lady Vols swept South Carolina in last year’s contest.
Edited by Christian Knox and Grace Goodacre
Featured image courtesy of Tennessee Volleyball’s Twitter page (@Vol_VBall)
