Vols hold off Razorbacks for 3-1 win
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Freshman Tessa Grubbs finished 18 kills and sophomore Erica Treiber added 15 kills as the Tennessee Volunteers defeated Arkansas 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22) on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols (13-7, 3-4 SEC) wrapped up their first 2-0 weekend of conference play after defeating Ole Miss 3-0 on Friday. Arkansas (3-16, 1-6) had lost 3-0 at No. 23 Kentucky.
Four Vols had at least 10 kills and four had 10 digs or more, led by sophomore libero Brooke Schumacher's career-high 18. Freshman setter Sedona Hansen posted a double-double with 49 assists and 13 digs.
"Our passing has been very good the last few matches, and that's allowed us to run a full offense," Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick said. "Sedona Hansen has done an incredible job running our offense. She's putting the ball where our hitters like to take swings, and her distribution has allowed us to be very diverse."
In a back and forth first set, the Vols broke a 15-15 tie by winning 9 of the next 11 points to go up 24-17. Treiber capped the run two points later with a shot up the middle to give the Vols the opening set, 25-18.
Arkansas led the second set 19-13 when the Vols turned around momentum in a hurry. Tennessee won 9 of 11 points again with Treiber capping the run with a kill to put Tennessee up 22-21. Arkansas tied the set up at 23-23, but Tennessee won the final two points to close out the second, 25-23.
Midway through the third set, the Razorbacks won seven of eight points to bolt ahead 17-10. The Vols chipped away at the lead, narrowing the lead to one point twice, but Arkansas won the last two points to seal the third, 25-22.
Tennessee won four of five points at one stretch to go ahead 11-7 in the fourth set and led by as many as six points at 18-12. Arkansas answered with a 5-0 run and cut the Vols' lead to one point. The Razorbacks closed the Vols' lead to one point two more times, but Tennessee staved off the rally to take the set 25-22.
Grubbs led the Vols with eight kills in the fourth set.
UP NEXTThe Vols have just one match next week, playing at Mississippi State on Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern. The Bulldogs won the first meeting of the year 3-0 in the SEC opener. It is the first in-season rematch for the Vols this year.