KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee volleyball said goodbye to its seniors Sunday with a straight-sets win, beating Alabama 25-17, 25-17, 25-18 at Food City Center.
Before the first serve the program honored four seniors: Sydney Jaynes, Nia Hall, McKenzie Plante and Caroline Kerr. Plante sat out hurt, but the other three were in the starting lineup. The 10th-ranked Lady Vols then wrapped up their home slate at 11-1, a run that included six wins in seven conference matches on their own floor.
The result capped a clean weekend in Knoxville after Tennessee also swept Mississippi State on Friday. It was the second sweep in a row for the team, which is now 18-5 overall and 9-4 in the SEC.
Tennessee grabbed control early. A four-point burst made it 8-3 in the opening set, the hosts hit .400 with 13 kills in that frame, and Hall ended it with a kill. Chelsea Sutton set the tone at the net early with four blocks in the first set. The second set went the same way, 14 kills producing another 25-17 finish, and 16 more kills put away the third.
Kennedi Rogers paced the attack with 15 kills, and Jalyn Stout chipped in 10 kills and 11 digs, the 77th double-double of her career. Kerr ran the offense with 33 assists. As a group, Tennessee hit .340 with 43 kills, six aces, 42 digs and 10 blocks. Raegan Burns, another senior, reached 1,000 digs for her career with five in the match.
The Crimson Tide, now 9-13 and 1-12 in league play, managed only 28 kills and a .110 hitting mark. Tennessee forced 18 Alabama attack errors, and Maggie Dostic put away the match-ending kill.
The regular season ends on the road. Tennessee plays at Georgia at 7 p.m. Friday and finishes at South Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday, with both matches streaming on SEC Network+.
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