University of Tennessee Athletics
BUGGS, CHRISTOPH SHARE LADY VOL WEEKLY HONORS
October 15, 2003 | Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
University of Tennessee soccer player Ali Christoph and volleyball player Cynthia Buggs were recognized as Co-Lady Vol Athletes of the Week, after garnering Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Week honors in their respective sports.
After helping the Lady Vols down South Carolina and Kentucky over the weekend, Buggs was honored with SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. Playing at the libero position, the Compton, Calif., native led a solid performance by the UT back row against USC and UK, as she registered 16 digs against the Gamecocks and 19 against the Wildcats for an average of 4.38 per game.
On the season, Buggs is digging opponent's attacks at a rate of 2.71 per game and 3.00 per game in SEC play. As a team, the Lady Vols lead the league in digs per game and are out-digging their foes by an average of 16.69 to 15.54 per game. Buggs and her Tennessee teammates will now put their 14-4 record on the line at home this week against Auburn at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 17, and Alabama at 2 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 19.
Christoph, a rookie midfielder from Columbus, Ohio, was instrumental in UT's wins over fifth-ranked Florida and South Carolina. During the Orange and White's clash with the Gators, she and her teammates limited UF to six attempts, including just one shot on net. Head Coach Angela Kelly's squad would receive first-half goals from juniors Kayla Lockaby (Hamilton, Ohio) and Lyndsey Patterson (Puyallup, Wash.) and shutout goaltending by sophomore Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart (Vernon, Conn.) on its way to a 2-0 upset victory.
Two days later, Christoph was involved in all three of Tennessee's goals in a 3-2 decision over the Gamecocks. She converted a penalty kick at the 17-minute mark and later helped provide the Lady Vols with a 2-0 advantage by assisting on junior All-American Keeley Dowling's (Carmel, Ind.) score at 62:18. After USC squared the match at 2-2, Christoph again come through with a clutch corner kick. Positioned to the right of senior keeper Elise Matthews, the freshman arched a cross into the box to Dowling, who fed junior Sue Flamini (Cranford, N.J.) for the match-winner with 4:57 showing on the clock.
Christoph leads the Lady Vols with six helpers, putting her second in the SEC in that category, and rates third on the squad in scoring behind Dowling and Patterson with 12 points. The No. 23 Lady Vols (9-4/3-1 SEC) will head to Arkansas (6-5-2/2-2 SEC) for a 7 p.m. CT clash with the Lady'Backs on Friday, before visiting LSU (8-4-1/1-3 SEC) on Sunday afternoon in the Bayou.
