KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The #16 Tennessee volleyball team fell to ninth-ranked Texas A&M during Sunday’s match at Food City Center (25-19, 15-25, 20-25, 21-25).
Tennessee (16-5, 7-4 SEC) rounded out the contest with 50 digs, 46 kills, 10 blocks and three aces, but had a large showing of errors they could not come back from. The Aggies (19-3, 11-1 SEC) picked up 16 blocks and a .265 hitting percentage, outperforming the Lady Vols.
Izzy Mogridge led the offense in the match, setting a career-high with 32 assists and picking up her first career double-double with 10 digs. The freshman setter also had four blocks and a kill on the evening.
Senior outside hitter Hayden Kubik secured an impressive 17 kills, four digs, three assists and one block. Redshirt-freshman middle blocker Zoë Humphrey added seven kills, four blocks and a dig, while sophomore opposite hitter Paityn Chapman followed closely to gain seven digs, six kills, four blocks and an ace. Senior libero Gülce Güçtekin posted 12 digs and an ace as well.
The Big Orange battled for the lead in the first stanza until their 5-0 run at the 15th point gave them a huge advantage for the win. The Lady Vols put up 15 kills on .353 hitting, as Kubik led the way with six, and Chapman followed close behind, adding five kills. Güçtekin picked up six digs and three assists while Mogridge had a strong start to the match, gaining 10 assists, five digs and a block.
Moving into set two, Tennessee struggled to pick up momentum, dropping to a .045 hitting percentage, and falling short 25-15. Texas A&M picked up a 7-0 run, limiting the Lady Vols to only seven kills and one ace offensively, compared to the Aggies’ 12 kills, two aces and two blocks. Kubik provided another two kills for the Tennessee offense.
The Lady Vols came back from an early 7-3 deficit to begin the third frame, but struggled to maintain the lead. The Big Orange finished with 10 digs and four blocks on defense; however, Texas A&M outhit Tennessee 17-9 and took the set. Dostic picked up four digs for the Big Orange, while Kubik led the offense to add another five kills. Redshirt-senior opposite hitter Starr Williams followed closely for four kills to go along with one dig. The Lady Vols fell short in the fourth stanza, due to eight blocks from the Aggies, and a 0.080 hitting percentage.
Up next, Tennessee will head back to Nashville on Friday to take on Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium. The match will be streamed at 8 p.m. on SEC Network+.