The Tennessee Lady Volunteer’s swept the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 3-0 in the finale for six MSU volleyball seniors.
The Lady Vols took the court tied with Georgia for second in the SEC East. UT (18-6, 8-6 SEC) has now defeated MSU (3-23, 2-14 SEC) in nine of the 10 matches in Starkville and has won seven consecutive matches in the series.
“Tennessee had a solid season. They came in prepared with a balanced and solid attack,” head coach Brenda Bowlin said.
“There were little spurts where we had chances to handle the ball and we didn’t. They’ve had an up-and-down season and we were coming off a few wins too,” said senior Tanika Taylor, who handled 18 of the team’s 62 digs.
UT took the first game 30-23. The Bulldogs fought back in game two, but fell 33-31.
Both offenses matched evenly in the second game, with UT totaling 24 kills on a .254 hitting percentage and MSU with 20 kills on .250.
MSU dominated the first half of the game and led 27-23 until the Lady Vols mounted the comeback.
“We had our opportunities to win that game,” said Bowlin. “We didn’t play poorly, but we had chances to gain points and we didn’t take the chances we had. The momentum swings back and forth with rally scoring. You have positives and negatives.”
The Lady Vols took the match with a 30-23 defeat in game three. MSU totaled 20 kills (.184), while UT totaled 22 (.327).
“It was kind of frustrating, but I’m glad I was helping offensively,” said senior Hilary Chambers, who had the highest attack percentage (.462) with seven kills.
Even with Tennessee’s victory, the Lady Vols looked sloppy. UT committed 14 service errors, while MSU made just three.
“We lost, but we played hard, so we can look back and know that we ended on a good note,” Chambers said.
And while the match ended the team’s season, it also bid farewell to six seniors.
“I’m kind of speechless,” senior Hillary Chambers said. “It’s kind of surreal to think this was the last game. We’ve gone through the routine since we were little; we go to school and we play sports. It’s weird to just have it end, but we’re looking forward to moving on.”
Bowlin said she’d miss her players, but she was excited at the opportunities waiting for them.
“Two of the girls got engaged–it’s incredible to see them go from a freshman to a senior. I’ve watched them grow and mature over four years,” Bowlin said. “They’ve all worked hard and I’m looking forward to seeing them go through the next steps of their lives.”