University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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Mississippi State
TENNESSEE VOLLEYBALL EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT SWEEP, DEFEATS MSU
October 02, 2005 | Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2005
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee volleyball team won its second straight match, defeating Mississippi State, 30-26, 30-27, 30-24, on Sunday afternoon at Stokely Athletics Center to improve to 9-5, 3-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs fell to 9-4, 0-3 in the SEC with their setback.
"It was a good SEC win for our team," Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "I was disappointed in the uneven effort and focus we had during the match, but when we needed to play hard, the team did a good job of concentrating and playing solid consistent volleyball. We knew Mississippi State has been playing very well and I thought we defended their outside hitters very well throughout the match, which helped us be successful.
In the contest, sophomore outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) led all players in kills with 18 and hit .308 (18-6-39). Senior middle blocker Kristen Andre (Kelseyville, Calif.) hit .500 (14-2-24) to lead all Lady Vols in that category. Also with a solid game offensively was sophomore middle blocker Joselyn Johnson (Muncie, Ind.) as she hit .294 (7-2-17).
Senior setter Julie Knytych (LaGrange Park, Ill.) recorded 43 assists in the match and also contributed six digs. Two Lady Vols tied for the team lead in digs with 10: senior libero Amy Morris (Michigan City, Ind.) and freshman defensive specialist Chelsea Noble (Vandalia, Ohio). Stoyanova and junior defensive specialist Annie Sadowski (Wheaton, Ill.) tallied nine digs each.
Morris has built her career dig total to 999 and looks to move into the 1,000-dig club this weekend.
In blocks, Andre set the pace today with five, while junior outside hitter Kelsey Fautsch (Chisago Lakes, Minn.) contributed four and junior middle blocker Sarah Blum (Tulsa, Okla.) had three.
Tennessee took immediate control in the first game and grabbed its largest lead of the game of 12 at 25-13 before Mississippi State went on a 13-4 run to come within three at 29-26. A kill from Johnson provided the winning tally for Tennessee, the third time in the last four games she had done so.
In the second game, the Lady Vols built a commanding 12-3 lead but MSU would not go away as a 14-8 run pulled the Bulldogs to within three at 20-17. Mississippi State scored five consecutive points later in the game to tie the contest, 26-26, but the Big Orange responded by putting four of the final five tallies on the scoreboard to prevail, 30-27.
Mississippi State came out strong in the third game and was ahead by six, its largest margin of the match, on two occasions: 8-2 and 11-5. At that point, Tennessee put together a 6-1 run to pull within one at 12-11 and would stay close before breaking through with three consecutive tallies and a 20-18 edge. Even though MSU rallied to tie the score at 20, the Lady Vols pulled away with a 7-2 run and won, 30-24.
The Lady Vols next take on fifth-ranked Florida (14-1, 4-0 SEC) in Gainesville at 4 p.m. on Friday. The match will be broadcast live in the Florida area on the Sunshine Network. Live audio coverage can be accessed on the Internet at www.gatorzone.com.
