University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VOLLEYBALL HEADS TO ARKANSAS TO OPEN SEC SLATE
September 22, 2005 | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2005
Week 5 Lady Vol Notes in PDF Format
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SEC Match of the Week Release in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee volleyball team (6-3) begins Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a pair of matches in Fayetteville, Ark. UT faces Arkansas (7-4) at 7 p.m. CDT on Friday before taking on LSU (10-1) at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. That match was moved to Fayetteville due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
The Big Orange is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the highly-competitive Mortar Board Premier with a 3-1 win over Xavier and a pair of 3-0 losses to Ohio and Purdue. The losses dropped the Lady Vols just out of the top 25 as UT, with 143 votes, came 10 votes shy of the 25th slot. Ohio received 65 votes, while Purdue rose to No. 19 after winning the tournament with a 3-0 mark.
Senior middle blocker Kristen Andre (Kelseyville, Calif.) was named to the all-tournament team. Tennessee has won two straight SEC openers and last met the Lady'Backs in an opening contest on Sept. 25, 1998, as 16th-ranked Arkansas swept UT.
The Lady'Backs won the Arkansas Invitational to start the season, sweeping all three opponents, went 1-1 at the C&C Services Invitational (hosted by the Lady 'Backs), 2-1 at the Results Advertising Invitational (at Missouri State) and 1-2 at the San Diego Tournament. Arkansas has gone 0-2 against top-25 teams, falling to 18th-ranked San Diego, 3-1, and No. 25 Long Beach State, 3-0, over the weekend.
Stat leaders for the Lady'Backs include Denitza Koleva (3.83 kills/game), Jessica Dorrell (.349 hitting percentage), Iva Docekalova (6.26 assists/game), Nicole Martin (6.10 assists/game), Ashley Miller (4.49 digs/game) and Amy Allison (1.74 blocks/game).
Arkansas leads the all-time series with the Lady Vols, 12-5, although Tennessee claimed both meetings in 2004 to end a five-match losing streak to the Lady'Backs.
LSU is coming off a historical weekend which saw the Tigers earn its first win over a ranked team in 13 years. On Sunday, LSU topped No. 8 Notre Dame in dramatic fashion, 30-28, 30-22, 23-30, 26-30, 20-18. The win earned the Tigers the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic championship. LSU also won the Georgia Southern and Georgia State Invitational titles. The Tigers' only loss of the campaign so far came against No. 13 Texas A&M, 28-30, 30-17, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13.
Tiger stat leaders are Jelena Mijatovic (4.90 kills/game), Ivana Kuzmic (.365 hitting percentage and 1.83 blocks/game), Heather Fierce (10.69 assists/game) and Kassi Mikulik (3.50 digs/game).
LSU leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 24-15. The teams have split their last six meetings with the Big Orange taking the teams' match in 2004 by 30-22, 30-12, 30-26 scores. That match took place in Knoxville.
Following this weekend's action, the Lady Vols take on No. 7 Louisville on Wednesday in Louisville before opening its SEC home slate with a contest versus Ole Miss on Sept. 30.
"MATCH OF THE WEEK"
The Southeastern Conference presents its inaugural volleyball "Match of the Week" as the Tennessee Lady Vols travel to play the Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas.
Arkansas, led by head coach Chris Poole comes into the match with a 7-4 record in the 2005 campaign. The Lady 'Backs are fresh off their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as last year's squad finished with a 17-16 record. The Lady Backs are led by senior Karla Crose, who ranks seventh in career block assists with 300 and is ninth for career total blocks with 317. UA will be looking to bounce back from a 1-2 record last weekend, as they traveled to San Diego to compete against some of the nation's best in a weekend tournament.
The University of Tennessee enters conference play hoping to rekindle the magic that led them to a share of the SEC Championship last season, as well as an SEC Tournament Championship. Last year's squad, led by head coach Rob Patrick, finished 32-3 last season, marking the highest winning percentage in a season in UT history. The Lady Vols return six starters from last year's squad, and are off to a 6-3 start in the 2005 season. Senior setter Julie Kytych remains the spark plug for the UT attack, as she ranks second on the UT all-time career assist chart with 4,715. The 2004 AVCA Third Team All-American tallied a single season record in 2004, compiling 1,709 assists.
The match will take place at Barnhill Arena, and will be broadcasted via web cast at the University of Arkansas Lady Razorbacks website, www.ladybacks.com
