University of Tennessee Athletics
NO. 18 LADY VOLS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AT ALABAMA
October 14, 2006 | Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2006
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 18 University of Tennessee volleyball team (15-4, 6-3 SEC) will look to recover from a tough, five-game loss at Kentucky when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Oct. 15. Sophomore Mindy Flynn will attempt to build on her career performance against the Wildcats in which she recorded personal-bests with 15 kills and 10 blocks.
The Lady Vols are led by a trio of upperclassmen, as seniors Sarah Blum and Kelsey Fautsch and junior Yuliya Stoyanova pace the team's efforts on both offense and defense. The three have combined to accumulate 62% of the team's kills, 61% of the squad's total attacks and 44% of its total blocks this season. Fautsch leads the team with 244 kills, while Stoyanova is closed behind with 236 of her own, in addition to a squad-best 3.87 kills per game. Blum tops the team with a .328 hitting percentage as well as 120 total blocks.
Alabama (12-6, 7-2 SEC) is riding a five-match winning streak that includes a sweep over Kentucky at home this past Friday, 30-26, 30-20, 31-29. The Tide is led offensively by junior Bridget Fuentez who paces the team with 262 kills and 3.8 kills per game. Defensively, sophomore Amy Pauly guides the team with 285 digs and 4.19 digs per game.
The Lady Vols hold an all-time advantage of 23-8 over the Tide, including wins in 11 of the last 14 match-ups. Last season, however, Alabama walked away with a thrilling five-game victory, 26-30, 30-18, 30-18, 29-31, 13-15, that knocked UT out of the SEC Tournament semifinals on Nov. 19.
Lady Vols Ranked No. 18: The Tennessee volleyball team has been ranked No. 18 in the nation, according to the most recent CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Lady Vols, who advanced to the NCAA National Semifinals for the first time in school history in 2005, return four starters and nine letterwinners from that record-breaking squad, including Second Team All-SEC performer and State College All-Regional MVP Sarah Blum as well as AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Yuliya Stoyanova.
Lady Vols On TV: The No. 18 Tennessee volleyball team is one of only two teams scheduled to make a pair of appearances on SEC-TV this season. UT will be featured on television a total of three times this year.
The Lady Vols will first hit the SEC-TV airwaves on Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. when they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on LSU. Tennessee will next be seen on CSS in a 2 p.m. match-up at South Carolina on Nov. 12. UT will also host Florida at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 in a match that will tape-delayed and air on SEC-TV on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.
FOX Sports Net South, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the Sunshine Network comprise SEC-TV and will air a total of eight matches in 2006.
No Place Like Home: Although the Lady Vols' 22-match home-winning streak was snapped in a five-game loss to LSU on Sept. 15, Stokely Athletics Center continues to provide a strong home-court advantage. Since the beginning of 2004, the Big Orange are a combined 35-2 (.946) at home, with marks of 15-1 in 2004 and a perfect 13-0 last year, including wins over No. 4 Florida and No. 17 Minnesota. Prior to the loss to the Tigers, the last team to defeat Tennessee in Knoxville was No. 8 Florida on Oct. 22, 2004.
Since Stokely Athletics Center underwent a multi-million dollar renovation prior to the 1998 season, UT has amassed an 88-23 (.793) home record, including four consecutive wins in NCAA Tournament matches that the Orange and White have contested on the court.
Already 7-1 at home this year, Tennessee will host no fewer than six more matches in 2006. A showdown with No. 8 Florida will occur on Nov. 17.
200 Wins ... And Counting: Lady Vol Head Coach Rob Patrick became just the second coach in UT volleyball history to record 200 career wins with a 3-1 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 17. Patrick is the second-winningest coach in Tennessee history, with a 206-99 record (.675). Bob Bertucci recorded a 229-115 (.666) mark from 1979-86.
The Cleveland, Ohio, native has led a resurgence of volleyball on the UT campus since his arrival in 1997. Six of the eight years prior to that season, UT had recorded losing campaigns, while Patrick has earned a winning record in each of his last eight years.
With a winning mark in 2005, UT set the school record for consecutive winning seasons, besting the previous mark of seven (1978-84).
Slow Starters, Strong Finishers: The Lady Vols have usually taken a game or two to warm up this season. As a team, they have combined to hit just .233 (591-236-1521) in the first two games of their matches. That number, however, improves significantly in the third game where they hit .261 (306-113-740). Furthermore, the Big Orange's record gradually improves each game, as it is 12-7 in first games, 13-6 in second games and 14-5 in third games.
Winning the Close Ones: Patrick's squad has been finding ways to win almost all of its close games this season. In games decided by three or fewer points, UT has posted a record of 15-6 (.714), including wins in 13 of their last 17. In two-point games, they are 11-5 (.688) and 9-3 in their last 12.
Stoyanova Reaches 1,000 Kills: Junior Yuliya Stoyanova became just the 15th person in Tennessee volleyball history to reach the 1,000 career kill mark. She did so in the first game of the Lady Vols' 3-1 victory on the road against Auburn on Sept. 29. Stoyanova needs 215 more kills this year in order to reach the top-10 of the all-time list. This season, she leads the team with 3.87 kills per game and is second with 236 total kills.
Blum Not Far Behind: Senior Sarah Blum is not far behind Stoyanova in the chase for 1,000 career kills as she only needs 41 more putaways before she accumulates the total. She is currently third on the team with 219 kills and 3.27 kills per game.
Return to Sender: As of Oct. 8, the University of Tennessee found itself ranked 15th among Division I teams with an average of 3.22 blocks per game. Only four other teams had accumulated more total blocks than the Lady Vols' 402. Blum paced the squad's effort as she was ranked fifth in the nation with 1.74 blocks per game. Penn State topped the list with an average of 3.66 blocks per game.
Sensational Stoyanova: Junior outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova started the 2006 season right where she left off in 2005, knocking out a season-high 19 kills against Miami University to help UT win the Comcast Lady Vol Classic Championship. Two weeks later she guided the squad to another tournament title, winning MVP honors at the Pitt Invitational. Stoyanova paced the team with back-to-back double-double performances in victories over Pittsburgh and Marshall. For her efforts, she was also awarded both SEC Player of the Week as well as Lady Vol Athlete of the Week.
The junior is second on the team in kills in 2006 with 236, only eight behind senior Kelsey Fautsch's total of 244. Her average of 3.87 kills per game leads the team and is tied for fifth in the SEC.
During her sophomore campaign, she finished fourth in the conference with an average of 4.15 kills per game en route to First Team All-SEC and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors.
For her career, the Sofia, Bulgaria, native is averaging 3.68 kills per game, the third-highest average recorded at Rocky Top. She sits behind only Ariana Wilson (4.08 from 1998-01) and Tamala Brightman (4.32 from 1990-93) for the school record.
Finding the Perfect Balance: After three seasons of providing stellar defense for UT, senior middle blocker Sarah Blum has added offense to her game in 2006.
The Tulsa, Okla., native has put up terrific numbers on both sides of the court so far this season, leading the team with a .328 hitting percentage, 15 solo blocks, 120 total blocks, 1.79 blocks per game, 295.5 points and 4.41 points per game.
Blum has now been named SEC Offensive Player of the Week twice in three weeks. She first picked up the honor on Sept. 25 after leading UT to wins over Louisville, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. She posted totals of 48 kills, 23 blocks and hit .347 during that three-match span.
She earned the title once again on Oct. 9 after recording a .529 hitting percentage and collecting 29 kills and 11 blocks in a pair of victories over South Carolina and Georgia.
In the Lady Vols' season opener, Blum moved into second place on the UT career blocks chart after totaling 11 rejections. She surpassed Ariana Wilson's career mark of 466 and now sits behind only Robin Maine (664). She finished the 2005 campaign with a team-high 161, good for the fifth-best season in school history.
She has also recorded the top-three seasons in blocks per game during her tenure at Rocky Top, with marks of 1.53 in 2005, 1.42 (2004) and 1.39 (2003). Her career average of 1.51 is the best in school history. Blum is found in fifth place on the career hitting percentage list as well, having tallied a .309 average.
Fantastic Fautsch: Over the last two seasons, UT is 28-4 (.875) when senior outside hitter Kelsey Fautsch records 10+ kills in a match, including 13 victories so far this year.
After transferring from Nebraska prior to the 2005 season, Fautsch quickly became one of the Lady Vols most consistent performers. The senior outside hitter competed in all but game in 2005 and posted double-digit attack totals in all but one match.
In 2006, Fautsch has continued that trend, with double-digit kills in 16 of the 18 matches in which she has played. She currently leads the team with 244 kills this year and is third with 156 digs.
Replacing a Legend: Entering this season, sophomore setter Chelsea Noble faced the unenviable task of replacing UT's all-time assists leader Julie Knytych.
Although it will be difficult to match the enormous numbers put up by the two-time All-SEC performer, Noble has fared just fine, tallying a team-high 821 total assists (11.73 per game). That mark places her fifth in the conference. She also leads the squad with 197 digs (2.81 per game).
During her freshman campaign, the Vandalia, Ohio, native contributed 76 assists, good for second on the team. That mark includes a then career-high 28 assists, which she put up in the Lady Vols' dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over No. 7 Notre Dame on Nov. 26 last year.
Marvelous Mindy: Sophomore RS/MB Mindy Flynn has been one of the Lady Vols top performers this season, posting 88 blocks and 128 kills, good for second and fourth on the team, respectively.
The Louisville, Ky., native had a breakout performance at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic on Aug. 25-26, winning the tournament's MVP award. She was also named Lady Vol Athlete of the Week for her stellar performance.
Flynn tallied 25 kills with just one attack error in 53 attempts (.453 hitting percentage) over the course of the three-match tournament. Her 12 kills versus Miami University on Saturday marked a career-high. Earlier in the day, Flynn set another personal-best mark with an impressive .667 (10-0-15) hitting percentage in the Lady Vols' sweep of Centenary. In the Friday night match, Flynn registered three kills, six digs, and four block assists in the victory over Virginia. For the weekend, Flynn totaled 25 kills, seven assists, nine digs and 10 blocks in 11 games.
She had another standout performance at Kentucky on Oct. 11. The sophomore totaled career highs with 15 kills, 31 attacks and 10 blocks in the return to her home state.
Making Their Mark: The most heralded freshman class in Tennessee volleyball history, ranked among the nation's top 10 by several publications, has received plenty of playing time this season.
All seven of the seven newcomers have seen meaningful time on the court, while three, Leah Hinkey, Jena Berg and Kylie Marshall, have earned starting nods on more than one occasion.
Hinkey has recorded the fifth most kills on the team (123) as well as the third highest block total (73).
With the team moving to a 6-2 offense at times this season, Berg has become a valuable player for the Lady Vols as the team's second setter. Currently, she has the second most assists on the squad (93) and is sixth in digs (139). The Bristol, Wis., native is also sixth on the team in service aces with seven.
Fellow freshman Marshall has proven to be the team's most versatile player, as she has played well at a number of positions, including libero, defensive specialist and outside hitter. She has tallied 38 kills, 155 digs, eight blocks and a team-high 15 service aces this season.
The Price is Right: Senior libero Annie Sadowski's parents traveled to Los Angeles simply to watch their daughter compete in the LMU/USC Hilton LAX Invitational. Little did they know that they would be the ones making history.
Vickyann Sadowski, Annie's mother, attended a taping of "The Price is Right" and came away with the single largest collection of prizes in the show's 35-year history. When all was said and done, she had won a combined total of $147,517 worth of prizes, including a Beachcomber hot tub, collection of digital cameras from DXG, a video arcade game featuring Joust and Robotron, a home theater system from JBL, $1000 cash, a six-night stay at the New York Marriott Marquis, and three cars: a 2007 Saturn Sky, a Dodge Caravan and a Dodge Viper SRT Tech Convertible.
