University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Villanova
LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL OPENS 2004 CAMPAIGN ON WINNING NOTE
September 03, 2004 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Calif.
The University of Tennessee volleyball squad (1-0) started the 2004 campaign with a 25-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-24 victory over the Villanova Wildcats (0-1) at the LMU Four Points Sheraton Volleyball Classic on Friday. The victory was the fifth season-opening win in six seasons and third consecutive.
Villanova jumped out to an 11-4 lead in game one and held on for the 30-25 game one victory.
"There were a lot of errors on our side of the net which stopped any momentum that we could have had in game one," Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "We had some unfortunate errors passing, hitting and digging. Villanova had very few errors and we were initially not able to step up to the challenge.
"In the second game, we were more organized, even though there were still lots of serving errors, and we had enough runs of points to pull it out. In games three and four, our serving improved and we did a nice job putting pressure on them by controlling the ball more."
Junior outside hitter Amy Morris (Michigan City, Ind. / Penn State) sparked a hot start in game two for the Lady Vols, putting away four kills in the first eight rallies, helping to give UT a 6-2 advantage. Tennessee would come back from a 20-18 deficit to rally for the 30-26 victory.
Freshman outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova (Sofia, Bulgaria / 81 SOU Victor Hugo H.S.) sparked game three, giving UT a 3-0 lead with a kill and block on consecutive rallies. Senior outside hitter Michelle Piantadosi (Boca Raton, Fla. / Olympic Heights H.S.) gave UT a 10-8 lead when she blasted an attack right into a Villanova dig, which floated back to her for a Piantadosi put-away. UT would win for a one-game advantage, 30-26.
Villanova was not about to go away quietly as the Wildcats held a 19-18 lead in game four, before the Lady Vols went on a 12-5 run to put the game and match away.
After being out-hit in game one (.158-.135), Tennessee came back to record a higher hitting percentage in the final three games (.214-.000, .211-.167 and .255-.182).
Junior middle blocker Kristen Andre (Kelseyville, Calif. / Kelseyville H.S.) led the Lady Vol attack with a .435 hitting percentage (13-3-23). Stoyanova hit. 321 (14-5-28). Morris recorded 19 putaways. Junior setter Julie Knytych (LaGrange Park, Ill. / Lyons Township H.S.) had 55 assists in the victory.
UT continues its play at the tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday. The Lady Vols face Duke at 10 a.m. PDT and No. 18/17 Loyola Marymount at 7:30 p.m. PDT.
