KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday, the No. 17 Tennessee volleyball team returned to Food City Center to host Coastal Carolina. The Lady Vols got back in the win column with their sixth sweep of the season (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) to improve to 6-1.
Jalyn Stout, a former Chanticleer, recorded the Lady Vols’ first point of the match. There was no love lost with her old program, but she did not hide the competitive edge of facing it.
“Obviously there’s a little bit of fire in me there that’s like, ‘Hey, I really wanna win this game,'” Stout said. “This is one I really don’t even wanna have to think about losing or anything like that. I think that really came into play for me today.”
However, Coastal Carolina got off to a great start with good defense. It contested at the net well and capitalized on blocks. Kennedi Rogers worked through some early attack errors and settled in for four kills with five digs in the opening set.
The Lady Vols were the first to 15, but it was a tight set. Stout flourished on that opposite side with great assists from Caroline Kerr and presented a challenge for Coastal with her cross-court attacks. She recorded six kills with a .600 percentage in the first set. Tennessee took it 25-19, and Stout served the final three points and closed the set with an ace.
Tennessee’s first point of set two came on Rogers’ second block of the match. But the Chanticleers went on a 6-1 run after that. Kaylee Musick picked up an ace for Coastal in that run. Jolene Oddo continued with a strong match. Her slide and kills helped the Lady Vols cut into that Coastal lead with three quick points. She went on to record five kills in the set to move her total to seven.
“She continues to get better every week,” Lady Vols head coach Eve Rackham Watt said on Oddo. “She’s so good behind the setter, and I think we still need to use it more.”
Stout and Kerr’s chemistry was so smooth, and that was on full display in the second set. The assists from Kerr were usual, but Stout fed her as well. Coastal Carolina reached 15 first with a one-point lead. The Lady Vols answered with Raegan Burns at the service line, where she ripped off a 4-0 run.
Maggie Dostic made the most of her swings during it, scoring three of the four points with kills, and Burns mixed in an ace to flip the set to a 19-15 Tennessee lead. Tennessee went on to finish out the set 25-19, and Stout clinched it with her 12th kill of the match. Sydney Jaynes chipped in an ace of her own in the set.
Chelsea Sutton picked up the first point of the third set with a kill through the middle. Tennessee traded points early before Rogers took over at the service line. With the Lady Vols up 3-2, she served a 5-0 run that included two of her own kills and stretched the lead to 7-2 before a Coastal timeout.
She stayed hot out of the break, and Welker could not handle her swing to make it 8-2. Jaynes added another ace in the set. Stout went on to finish off her day strong with 17 kills, eight digs and three assists.
Tennessee out-hit Coastal Carolina .288 to .147 and piled up 51 kills to 26. Kerr ran the offense with 40 assists and added four kills without an error and eight digs. Oddo was the most efficient hitter on either side and finished with nine kills on a team-best .643 clip.
“She was in some tough situations and she managed them well today,” Rackham Watt said. “And then when she got her opportunities to kill the ball, she did.”
Rogers filled the sheet with 10 kills, six digs and a team-high four blocks, and Dostic added seven kills and seven digs.
The Lady Vols will return to action on the road Tuesday. They will visit Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., for a 5:30 p.m. EDT first serve on ESPN+.
