University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Kentucky
KENTUCKY DEFEATS LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL, 3-1
November 07, 2003 | Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2003
LEXINGTON, Ky.
The University of Tennessee volleyball team fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, 3-1 (28-30, 30-23, 28-30, 26-30), on Friday evening at Memorial Coliseum. With the loss, the Lady Vols fall to 17-8 overall and 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference, while UK improves to 14-12 this season and 6-8 in the SEC.
Junior Michelle Piantadosi and sophomore Kristen Andre led Tennessee's offense with 17 kills apiece, while sophomore Amy Morris provided an additional 11 kills. Andre also led UT with a .438 hitting percentage. Morris played strong in the back row as well for the Lady Vols, tallying a team-high 18 digs. Sophomore setter Julie Knytych distributed 57 assists in addition to registering 15 digs. Andre, Piantadosi and freshman Sarah Blum posted three blocks each.
With her 17 kills, Piantadosi has now either led UT or tied for the team lead in kills during three of the last four matches. She also currently holds a career total of 746 kills, just four shy of the 750-kill milestone.
Knytych, after posting 57 assists, now boasts a total of 1,141 helpers on the season, giving her the 10th-best single-season total in Lady Vol history. The 10th position had previously been held by Molly Mooney, who tallied 1,113 assists in 1992. Additionally, Knytych holds the eight-highest seasonal assists total with the 1,244 she dished out during her freshman season of 2002.
Both Tennessee and Kentucky put up strong offensive displays in game one, but UK was able to edge the Orange and White, 30-28, despite being out-hit .375 to .327 by the Lady Vols. UT's defense tightened up in game two, as the Big Orange recorded three blocks and held the `Cats to .048 hitting en route to a 30-23 triumph. In game three, both squads seemed to struggle offensively and Kentucky again edged out UT, 30-28, while out-hitting the Lady Vols .133 to .100. With momentum on its side, UK was able to close out the match with a 30-26 win in game four, despite nine kills from Andre.
Tennessee lost for just the second time this season when out-hitting its opponent, attacking at a .226 rate compared to .213 by the Wildcats. The match also marked UT's third loss of the season when attacking better than .200 as a team.
The Lady Vols will continue their weekend of competition when they head south to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Following this week's competition, the Big Orange will hit the road for its final regular-season conference tests against Mississippi State on Fri., Nov. 14 and Ole Miss on Sun., Nov. 16. The Lady Vols must then prepare for the SEC Tournament over Nov. 21-23 in Columbia, S.C.
