The No. 18 University of Tennessee volleyball team (15-3, 6-2 SEC) notched its first sweep in a month, defeating Georgia (4-14, 0-8 SEC) in three games, 30-21, 30-27, 30-23, Sunday afternoon at Stokely Athletics Center.
Sophomore setter Chelsea Noble paced the Big Orange offense with 43 assists and added a match and season-high 16 digs defensively. With 17 kills each, senior middle blocker Sarah Blum and junior outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova led the Lady Vol attack. Blum also posted a season-high .593 hitting percentage (17-1-27) in the victory. As a team, UT recorded its second-highest hitting percentage of the year, out-hitting Georgia .341 to just .191 for the Lady Bulldogs.
Behind a strong overall effort, the Orange and White earned the first-game victory, 30-21. Down by a point at 7-8, the Lady Vols proceeded to win nine of the next 10, including six straight, to take the lead by seven scores. Tennessee won 11 of the final 15 points to claim the frame.
Georgia clearly had the momentum going in its favor in the middle of the second game as it took a 19-16 lead following a stretch in which it won nine of 11 points and had a pair of four-point scoring runs. Trailing by just one at 23-24, UT slammed home kills on five consecutive points and used a Bulldog attack error to make it six straight scores en route to a 30-27 win and two-game advantage going into the intermission.
In the third game, it was Stoyanova and Blum, once again, who took over and led the Orange and White to victory. UT won the set 30-23 and the match three games to none.
The Lady Vols will open a four-game road swing with a midweek contest against Kentucky this Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.             

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