The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference
The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - SECOND ROUND

Vols sent home in second round

1643 days ago
Tennessee Athletics
Photo: Tennessee Athletics

PULLMAN, Wash. - No. 19 University of Tennessee fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington State in four sets.

The Lady Vols (26-6, 16-2 Southeastern Conference) season ends after making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012 and their first appearance in the second round since the 2011 campaign.

In the loss, junior Tessa Grubbs finished with 21 kills while hitting .306 for the match. In her final match as a Lady Vol, senior Erica Treiber finished with 13 kills (.435 hitting percentage) to go along with a team-high five blocks.

After dropping the first two sets of the match, Tennessee rallied back to take the third set, leading nearly the entire way. Up 8-6, the Lady Vols went on a 7-1 run to increase their lead out to eight points. Tennessee was able to force Washington State (22-10, 12-8 PAC-12) to hit negative in the set with nine hitting errors.

The Lady Vols had five blocks in the frame including four from freshman Raquel Perinar who came in along the front row to start the frame.

In the opening frame, Grubbs helped pace the Lady Vol offense with seven kills. Tennessee dropped a close opening set in extra points 30-28. Defensively, the team was able to limit the effectiveness of Cougar senior Taylor Mims who lead the team in kills/set.

The Lady Vols held her to a negative hitting percentage and just four kills at the midway point of the second set. Grubbs added seven more kills to her name in the second set as the junior hit the ball at a .321 clip through two sets.

Washington State took the second set to take a 2-0 advantage heading into the break.

Standout Stat

  • Tennessee's 14 game win increase from a year ago is tied for the most in program history and is the most in the NCAA era. The Lady Vols 26 wins mark the most since the 2011 season and is the third most in the rally-scoring era.