University of Tennessee Athletics
UT s Arkansas to Advance to the Semifinal Match of the SEC Volleyball Tournament
November 17, 2000 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (NOv. 17, 2000) -- The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer volleyball team remains undefeated against the Southeastern Conference's Western Division after it blanked Arkansas, 3-0, in the opening round of the SEC Championship on November 17.
"We played with a purpose today," said head coach Rob Patrick. "After the Kentucky loss the team was disheartened and we have really come together to make that loss work as a positive for us. It motivated our play in this match and that translated into a great effort by everyone."
The win marked Patrick's 75th career-win. The three-game triumph also marked the first time the Big Orange has defeated the Lady Razorbacks in three games. The UT is now 11-10 in open-round matches of the SEC Tournament.
The Lady Vols sprinted out of the gates, building an 8-3 lead at the media time-out in the first game. Arkansas came out of the break to take the serve back and went on to score two points. Patrick's squad extended its lead to 12-5 on Erica Lear's (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) serve and forced Arkansas head coach Chris Poole to call a time-out to rally his troops. After the teams traded side-outs, Kelli Scott (Peoria, Ariz./Peoria) stepped up to serve for UT. Scott brought the Lady Vols to game-point with a service ace, making the score 14-5. The Orange and White failed to capitalize on the game-point and the Lady Backs rallied. Three Arkansas points proved to be to little to late as the Patrick's squad took the lead in the match with a 15-8 victory in game one.
In the second frame, The Big Orange once again ran up a lead heading into the media time-out with an 8-2 lead. A Scott service ace extended the lead to 9-2 before Arkansas scored again. An Andrea Peterson (Los Angeles, Calif./Notre Dame Academy) service ace put the Lady Vols up 10-3 and forced Poole to call a time-out. The move yielded results as Arkansas forced a side-out and scored twice. Patrick then, called a time-out of his own to stop the Lady Razorback's momentum. At 10-7, the Big Orange got the serve back and went up 11-7 on an Arkansas error. Poole called another time-out at 12-9. The game became a tug-of-war from there as the team's traded points until the Big Orange gained a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a game-point at 14-13. The Lady Vols did just that as Scott slammed a kill down the line to close the second stanza.
The Lady Razorbacks opened the third game, taking their first lead in the match 0-1 on an Eftila Tanellari block. The lead was short-lived as UT used strong blocking to score three consecutive points. The Big Orange extended its lead to 8-1 at the media time-out. The break enabled the Arkansas to stop Tennessee's momentum and Poole's squad clawed back to within four points of the Lady Vols. A Jennifer Elliott block extended the UT-lead to five at 9-4, but the Lady Razorbacks charged back to bring the score to 9-6. Strong blocking once again brought the Lady Vols back on track as Janelle Hester (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport) and Ariana Wilson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) combined on two straight Arkansas attacks to make the score 13-6. Patrick's squad put an exclamation point on the win as Scott recorded her 13th kill of the match to seal a 15-8 UT victory.
"We had played more consistent today then we have in a while," Patrick said. "We committed less errors and really controlled the match with our energy on the court. Our communication on the court improved from where it has been in the last couple matches and that paid off."
Patrick credits Lear, a setter, as being the key to keeping his squad in the match. Lear's precise setting enabled the Big Orange to hit .295 in the match. She turned in a match-high 35 assists and 15 digs.
Junior outside hitter Ariana Wilson lead the way for the Lady Vols, tallying 16 kills and five blocks. Sophomores Scott and Hester each posted 13 kills in the victory. Scott also added 10 digs and two service aces.
Junior outside hitter Jennifer Elliott (Kyle, Texas/Hayes) tallied 11 digs and eight kills as her classmate outside hitter Kristen Clements (Manhattan, Ind./Lincoln-Way) matched Elliott's dig total.
The 22-7 Lady Vols will meet the winner of the Florida and Ole Miss match. The semifinal match is set to take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. This will be the Orange and White's fourth consecutive appearance in the semifinals.
