University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Kentucky
LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS UK IN TIGHT CONTEST
November 06, 2005 | Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2005
LEXINGTON, Ky. - For the first time since rally scoring came into effect in 2001, the Lady Vol volleyball team (16-7, 10-3 Southeastern Conference) saw a sweep decided by a trio of two-point decisions on Sunday as the Big Orange claimed an intense 31-29, 31-29, 30-28 decision over Kentucky (16-8, 9-5 SEC). There were 32 ties and 12 lead changes in the contest.
It was just the third time that the Lady Vols had been involved in a match which saw at least three two-point decisions. On Nov. 10, 2002, UT topped Kentucky, 30-20, 30-32, 32-30, 26-30, 17-15, and on Aug. 30, 2003, Michigan State defeated the Lady Vols, 28-30, 26-30, 31-29, 30-28, 17-15.
"I was real proud of the way the team hung in and played hard," Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "We were not really playing consistently or well, but the one thing that is really becoming consistent with our team is how hard they play. Once again, we keep improving at being able to bounce back from inconsistent play to finish matches strong, which might be one of the most important things that we have improved on this year.
The first game was indicative of the potential of the competitiveness of the Kentucky-Tennessee rivalry as the Wildcats raced out to a dominating 10-3 lead, but the Lady Vols stormed back and, with a 12-4 run, took their first lead at 15-14. From that point on, the teams stayed within two points of each other until Kentucky took a 25-22 lead. Tennessee, however, responded with a 3-0 run to tie the contest at 25. The game was also tied at 26, 27, 28 and 29 before the Big Orange ran off the last two points of its 31-29 win.
Game two was no different, although it got to the end via an alternate route. The game was close early as Tennessee held an 8-6 lead, but the Lady Vols would gradually extend their advantage to eight at 19-11. At that point, an 8-1 Kentucky run brought the Wildcats to within a sole tally at 20-19. The teams would not see more than two points separate them the rest of the game. The score would be tied at 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 29. Kentucky took a brief one-point advantage at 26-25, but Tennessee rallied with a couple of tallies. With the Lady Vols up, 29-27, Kentucky tied the contest at 29, but UT scored the final two points of the 31-29 win.
In the third game, the teams battled down to the wire once again. Kentucky pulled away by a four-point margin at 12-8 and 13-9, but Tennessee rallied back to tie the contest at 17, 18, 19 and 20. The Wildcats pulled away on the strength of a 4-0 run for a 24-20 edge, but Tennessee would not quit and tied the contest at 28 before the Lady Vols finished off a 5-0 run for the 30-28 win. Freshman outside hitter Mindy Flynn (Louisville, Ky.) was very impressive in that match-winning run with three powerful kills, including consecutive putaways to give the Big Orange a 29-28 edge.
"We fought really hard in the last couple points coming back like that," Flynn said. "Kentucky's defense was awesome. They were really scrappy and nothing hit the floor on them.
Patrick thought highly of the team's performance.
"I've told our team that we have 15 players that can play this game and it was very evident today when Jasmine (Fullove) and Mindy went into a very tough situation and they were the catalysts for the great comeback in the third game.
In the defensive battle, the Lady Vols recorded an uncharacteristically-low .131 hitting percentage, its second-lowest mark of 2005, but more than made up for it by holding Kentucky to a .118 percentage. Two Big Orange attackers recorded 10 kills each to lead UT in that category: senior middle blocker Kristen Andre (Kelseyville, Calif.) and sophomore outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova (Sofia, Bulgaria). Senior setter Julie Knytych (LaGrange Park, Ill.) had 40 assists in the contest.
Senior libero Amy Morris (Michigan City, Ind.) set the pace in digs with 21, while Knytych recorded 12 of her own. Andre led all blockers with seven, junior middle blocker Sarah Blum (Tulsa, Okla.) had five and sophomore outside hitter Joselyn Johnson (Muncie, Ind.) tallied four.
The win put the Lady Vols in prime position to earn the second seed at the SEC Tournament. Tennessee at 10-3 moved itself into a tie with Arkansas, who had a 10-3 mark entering Sunday's action. The Lady Vols have the tiebreaker over the Lady'Backs on the strength of a 30-27, 30-24, 30-26 win in Fayetteville on Sept. 23.
The Lady Vols now look ahead to their final three SEC matches of the 2005 campaign. The contests also serve as Tennessee's last trio of home contests this season. UT takes on South Carolina at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Alabama at 7 p.m. on Friday and Auburn at 1:30 p.m. next Sunday.
