University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#5 Florida
LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT NO. 5 FLORIDA
October 07, 2005 | Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2005
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Tennessee volleyball team (9-6, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) fell in straight games to No. 5 Florida (15-1, 5-0 SEC) on Friday afternoon, 30-22, 30-22, 30-24.
The first game was one of runs. Florida carried the momentum of a 7-0 run to grab an early 12-4 lead, but the Lady Vols responded with a 5-1 skein of their own to cut their deficit to 14-9. A 5-0 Lady Vol run later in the game cut the Gator edge to three at 19-16, but UF responded with a 6-1 run for a 25-17 advantage before prevailing, 30-22.
In the second game, Tennessee took an 8-6 lead, but Florida came back with an 11-4 run and a 17-12 Gator advantage. UF extended its lead to 25-17 on its way to the 30-22 win.
The third game was close early as the score was tied at 11 before Florida pulled away with an 8-1 run. The Gators claimed the game, 30-24.
In the match, senior middle blocker Kristen Andre (Kelseyville, Calif.) hit .273 (9-3-22) while freshman outside hitter Milan Clarke (Santa Monica, Calif.) hit at a .250 clip (6-1-20). Leading the way for the Big Orange in kills was sophomore outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) with 11, while Andre was next with nine.
Defensively, four Lady Vols recorded double-figure totals in digs, let by freshman libero Chelsea Noble's (Vandalia, Ohio) 17. Stoyanova, Knytych and junior libero Annie Sadowski (Wheaton, Ill.) tallied 10 each.
Junior middle blocker Sarah Blum (Tulsa, Okla.) set the pace in blocks with seven, while junior outside hitter Kelsey Fautsch (Chisago Lakes, Minn.) recorded five.
Senior setter Julie Knytych (LaGrange Park, Ill.) tallied 29 assists and, with 4,975 in her career, is just 25 short of entering the illustrious 5,000-assist club of which just one Lady Vol and nine SEC players are currently members. Erica Lear (1998-01) currently holds the school record of 5,069.
"I was disappointed with our team's lack of execution offensively as well as our inconsistency in controlling the ball on second contacts," Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "We gave ourselves a lot of chances to score points with some nice digging and team defense, but we made too many errors and were not aggressive enough when we took swings at the ball.
"We put Milan in a challenging situation, coming into a tough environment and I thought she did a really good job of stepping up to the challenge, especially just being a freshman.
Next up for the Lady Vols is a battle with Georgia (6-7, 1-2 SEC entering Friday's match with South Carolina). That contest begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday and will be broadcast live on SEC-TV (FOX Sports Net South in the Knoxville area).
