No. 24 Lady Vols never trail in win over Boston College

SAN DIEGO – The 24th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols enjoyed a dominant performance to wrap up the USD Invitational on Friday night, as UT never trailed during a sweep (25-14, 25-16, 25-10) against Boston College.

“I was happy with the fact that we went into the match so determined and focused,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “It can be challenge on a trip like this, especially with a win like last night and a quick turnaround without a lot of prep time. Our team came in really laser-focused to get a job done, and I like the way we approached the match. 

“I thought Keondreya Granberry’s confidence grew throughout the match, which was really cool to see. She got some good block touches early and made some good moves. Offensively, she was working really hard to be available in transition, and when middles work that hard, it’s on the setter to find them as much as possible, and I think Caroline Kerr did that. Kiki made herself available. Overall, she played great.”

Granberry, a sophomore middle blocker, paced the Big Orange (5-0) in its fourth sweep of the season with match highs in kills (11) and blocks (9). She hit for .667 on the day and eclipsed double-digit kills for just the second time in her career.

Junior outside hitter Erykah Lovett posted 11 digs, six kills and three blocks on the day, while graduate right-side hitter Morgahn Fingall had nine kills, two blocks and two digs. Graduate outside hitter Jenaisya Moore rounded out a strong attacking effort with eight kills. Three Lady Vols hit for better than .300 with a minimum of 15 attacks. As a team, Tennessee won big in the hitting percentage battle, out hitting the Eagles (2-2) .369 to -.020. Defensively, the Big Orange had 11 blocks compared to just three for BC.

Redshirt freshman setter Kerr finished with 32 assists, three digs, two aces, one block and one kill on the day. Graduate libero Yelianiz Torres posted a team-best 13 digs to go along with one ace and one assist.

Granberry led the way for Tennessee in the first set, recording four kills and three blocks to fuel the Big Orange both offensively and defensively. Fingall and Lovett also added four kills each, as the Lady Vols hit .438 in the frame and used runs of 8-1 and 7-2 to cruise to the 25-14 set victory to begin the match.

Just like the first set, the Big Orange jumped out to a quick 10-3 advantage in the second frame. The attack was spread out, as four different Lady Vols recorded multiple kills in the period. Boston College responded with a run of its own, but the Tennessee lead was insurmountable with UT out-hitting the Eagles .462 to .097 in the set. Granberry added four kills and two blocks in the frame.

During the third set, Tennessee held a 10-7 advantage before ripping off an 11-1 run thanks to three service aces to cruise to the win in the final frame. Granberry continued to assert her dominance down the stretch, helping score UT’s final three points, including an emphatic final kill to end the match. With four blocks in the frame as a team, the Big Orange defense didn’t allow any easy points for the Eagles, as BC hit -.257 with 14 errors in the set.

Up next, the Lady Vols head to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the top-ranked Badgers on their home floor Sunday afternoon. First serve for the match will be at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT, and fans can watch live on B1G+.