University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Arkansas
NO. 25 TENNESSEE DROPS 3-1 DECISION AT ARKANSAS
October 21, 2006 | Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2006
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The No. 25 University of Tennessee volleyball team (15-6, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) fell for the third consecutive match, dropping a 3-1 decision, 23-30, 31-29, 28-30, 28-30, to Arkansas (11-8, 4-7 SEC) Friday night at Barnhill Arena. The three-match conference skid marks the longest since the Lady Vols lost three-straight to Arkansas, LSU and No. 3 Florida from Oct. 24-31, 2003.
"It was a disappointing loss because I thought that the team worked hard throughout the entire match," UT head coach Rob Patrick said. "We just could not pull it out at the end of games three and four. We started out slow in the first game, but I like how we turned it around in the second. Milan Clarke led that resurgence with her energy, competitiveness and aggressive play, both offensively and defensively."
Junior Yuliya Stoyanova led the team in both kills and digs in the loss, with 17 and 25, respectively. Her dig total marked a career-high as well as the highest on the team this season. Freshman Kylie Marshall also added a personal-best total of 21, as the duo helped the squad to a season-high 88 on the night. Also posting double-digits in digs were sophomore Chelsea Noble (12) and senior Annie Sadowski (10), while seniors Kelsey Fautsch and Sarah Blum, as well as freshman Leah Hinkey, reached the mark in kills with 15, 14 and 10, respectively.
The Lady Vols were unable to get the ball rolling in the opening frame, falling 30-23. With the Big Orange up 11-8 following a Fautsch kill, Arkansas grabbed the lead with a four-point run. A Lady'Back service error knotted the score back up at 12, but UT could not take advantage of the unforced error, as Arkansas went ahead for good by winning 15 of the next 19 points. With the score at 27-16, Tennessee attempted to stage a late comeback, claiming five scores in a six-point span, but the deficit proved too large to overcome and an attack error gave the Lady'Backs the one-game advantage.
Despite trailing by as many as eight points in the second game, Tennessee was able to mount a late rally to claim a 31-29 victory. Down by the score of 22-16, it looked like the Lady Vols would be going into the intermission with a two-game deficit on their hands. A three-point run, however, narrowed the Arkansas advantage to a much more manageable five scores, prompting UA head coach Chris Poole to call a time-out. The two squads traded the first 12 scores out of the break before a Blum blast to the back-left corner sparked a four-point tear that gave Tennessee its first lead of the frame at 29-28. After Arkansas tied it back up, consecutive kills from Stoyanova closed out the set and deadlocked the match at one game each. Both teams were hitting on all cylinders in the frame as the Lady Vols knocked out a .390 attack average to Arkansas' mark of .386. Clarke led the squad with a .556 hitting percentage in the set as she pounded out five kills on nine attempts with no errors.
Unable to build on the momentum of their second-game win, Tennessee fell 30-28 in the third set. After Blum and Noble combined to block an Arkansas attack and extend the Lady Vols' lead to six at 13-7, the home team rallied to win seven of the next nine points, including four straight, to shrink the lead to one. UT was able to withstand the surge and hold on to a thin three-point advantage until the Lady'Backs took their first lead of the frame with a furious five-point run that moved the score to 27-25. The two squads traded the last five scores to account for the final tally.
Tennessee fell behind early in the fourth game and could not finish off a late comeback attempt, as it dropped an extremely hard-fought set 30-28. Arkansas jumped out to a 10-7 advantage with runs of three and four points early in the frame. The Lady Vols fought back to tie the game at 13 on the strength of a Stoyanova blast and took their first lead of the game when a UA player mishandled the ball. The Orange and White continued to hold on to its one-point advantage as Fautsch won a joust above the net to move the score to 19-18. The Lady'Backs, however, answered with a four consecutive scores to move ahead 22-19. Tennessee was not going away without a fight and clawed its way back to a 26-all tie, but could not get over the hump as Arkansas won four of the final six points to win the game and match.
Tennessee will return to the court on Sunday, Oct. 22, when it travels to Baton Rouge, La., to take on No. 12 LSU (17-3, 9-2 SEC) in the SEC Match of the Week. The 3:30 p.m. CDT showdown with the Tigers will be broadcast live on SEC-TV from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
