Tennessee Classic
- Aug. 24, 2018
- Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Match Stats
- Tennessee def. Michigan State 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23)
- Tennessee moves to 1-0; Michigan State moves to 0-1
- Box Score
- Tennessee Recap / Michigan State Recap
In a competitive season-opener, Tennessee bested Michigan State, 3-1, at the Tennessee Classic. It was the first win of the Eve Rackham era, first-year head coach for the Lady Vols, and the program’s first ranked victory since 2016 (Tennessee def. No. 23 Kentucky, 3-1, on Nov. 23, 2016). More than 2,300 fans were on hand to see the upset.
The Lady Vols hit .226, while the Spartans sputtered hitting just .182. MSU managed 14 blocks (to 5 for UT) and served up three aces (to 1), but could not find their footing offensively. Tennessee overcame 27 miscues and a .056 Set 2 hitting effort in the win.
A trio of Lady Vols tallied double-digit kill totals: Erica Treiber (career high 19), Tessa Grubbs (15) and Lily Felts (11). Treiber also chipped in a team-high four blocks and an ace. Sedona Hansen dished out 28 assists and rounded out a double-double with 15 saves, while Madison Coulter led the way with 18 digs.
Alyssa Chronowski led the Spartans offensively with 19 kills, while Naya Gros and Becka Poljan chipped in nine putaways each. Elena Shklyar distributed 43 assists and Jamye Cox posted a team-high 19 digs. Gros put up a match-high nine stuffs, while Molly Johnson (5) and Chronowski (4) followed.
Michigan State rallied from down six (19-13) to within two (22-20) in Set 4, but could not complete the comeback. Tennessee closed out the win with kills by Briana Jeter and Treiber and an MSU hitting error.
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