Ole Miss ran into a top 10 team playing like a top 10 team Friday night.
Tennessee controlled the match from the start and handed the Rebels a 3-0 loss at the Food City Center.
The Rebels, now 8-7 and 2-2 in SEC play, got eight kills and five digs from Shayla Meyer on .375 hitting.
Cameron Bradley finished with 11 digs, but Tennessee’s offense kept the pressure on behind 14 kills from Kennedi Rogers.
Tennessee jumped out fast in the opening set, building a 7-2 lead and forcing an early Ole Miss timeout.
The Rebels found a little rhythm out of the break with a Carlton kill and a Crook-Moorer block, but the Lady Vols kept control.
Moorer added a kill and a solo block to trim the margin and force a Tennessee timeout at 17-11, but the Rebels couldn’t close the gap and dropped the set 25-14.
The second set followed the same script. Tennessee pushed ahead 10-5, Ole Miss called timeout, and the Lady Vols kept rolling.
Their lead stretched to 17-7 before the Rebels finally grabbed a spark from a Tenesyn Frye kill and a Vivianna Samaniego ace. It wasn’t enough to slow Tennessee, which took the set 25-12.
Ole Miss showed real progress in the third. Freshman Sophie Taylor came off the bench and immediately gave the Rebels a lift with a pair of kills.
Tennessee held a narrow 8-7 lead through the early points, and Ole Miss stayed within reach thanks to two more Meyer kills and another Crook-Moorer block.
The Rebels trailed 15-12 at the technical timeout, but Tennessee answered with a long run that closed out the match with a 25-14 finish.
Ole Miss heads back on the road Sunday for a matchup with No. 4 Kentucky. First serve is set for 1 p.m. on SECN+.
