University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
21-9, 14-5SEC
Auburn
6-25, 1-19SEC
Lady Vols Survive Five-Alarm Thriller
November 23, 2008 | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2008
AUBURN, Ala. - In a match that fell just four minutes short of setting the record for the longest match in NCAA history, the University of Tennessee volleyball team (21-9, 14-5 Southeastern Conference) was able to overcome a 32-minute delay for a fire alarm, as well as a spirited Auburn squad (6-25, 1-19 SEC) to claim a hard-fought, five-set decision, 23-25, 25-11, 25-18, 19-25, 16-14, Sunday afternoon at the Student Activities Center in Auburn, Ala.
The match, which lasted three hours and thirty-five minutes including a 32-minute delay in the fifth set, was just three minutes shorter than the longest match in NCAA history, a three-hour, thirty-eight minute affair between Hawaii and BYU in 1999.
"We are very happy to have been able to go on the road and come out with a hard-fought victory today," UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "We have been telling our team all week that Auburn is much improved since we last played them and have been coming very close to picking up some wins over some good teams.
"Auburn made us fight for every point and we had to battle through a lot of momentum killers that we brought upon ourselves throughout the match," Patrick said. "We made quite a few of unforced errors including missed serves, net violations and ball-handling errors. The team really did a nice job of playing the big points well, however, especially in the fifth set. Another thing that kept us in the game was the fact that our hitters did a nice job of playing low-error volleyball."
Junior Kylie Marshall led the Lady Vols statistically with her third double-double of the season and fifth of her career, recording 14 kills and a team-high 14 digs. The Puyallup, Wash., native also notched her third-highest attack average of the season, hitting .462 with just two errors in 26 swings.
Sophomore Nikki Fowler, meanwhile, topped the team with 16 kills in addition to nine digs, four blocks and a pair of aces. Senior Milan Clarke also reached double-digits in kills with 13 of her own, while junior Farren Powe paced the squad with six blocks. Freshman Alyssa Hilby finished second on the team with four putbacks and senior Mindy Flynn and Marshall had three each.
"Our pin-hitters, especially Milan and Kylie, kept us in the match with timely kills," Patrick said. "Kylie played a great all-around game, not only leading us in kills, but also with her digs defensively and by putting Auburn in tough spots with her powerful jump serve. She also came up with probably the biggest play in the match with a block at 14-all in the fifth set."
With the Lady Vols leading 8-6 in the fifth and final set, a fire alarm went off as junior Kylie Marshall was serving. After the serve landed wide, the teams and spectators were evacuated from the building while it was searched for fire. When it was determined that it was safe to resume play, the teams were brought back to the court. Following a brief discussion as to what the score would be when the match resumed, play was restarted.
Now leading by the score of 8-7, a blast by sophomore Nikki Fowler through the left-side block put the Big Orange back up by two. After the two squads traded the next three points, Auburn claimed three consecutive scores to take its first lead of the frame at 12-11. UT stayed patient, however, tying it back up on a cross-court kill by senior Mindy Flynn.
Following a UT attack error, a blast by senior Milan Clarke and a block by Marshall and freshman Alyssa Hilby gave the Big Orange a chance at match point. Although a service error allowed play to continue, Fowler pounded out a kill from the back row and Auburn senior Jessica Glover ended the contest with an attack that landed long.
In the opening frame, the Big Orange was able to come back from an early deficit, but a late run by Auburn proved to be too much to overcome, as the Tigers took the early lead with a 25-23 victory. Fowler paced the squad with four kills in the set, while Flynn and Marshall each tallied three of their own. Junior Farren Powe topped the team with three blocks in the set.
Tennessee quickly fell behind 7-1 after six-point Auburn run, but did not panic, slowly working its way back into the set. Immediately after the Tigers' streak, Flynn started a three-point spree for UT with a blast down the left-side line. Marshall then followed with kills on consecutive plays to move the score to 7-4.
Just moments later, the Orange and White was able to tie it up at 13-13 on a Tiger attack error before a blast by Powe on the next play finished off a five-score spree and gave UT its first lead of the afternoon. The score remained close for the remainder of the set with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage until Auburn scored the final four points to claim the initial lead of the match. With Tennessee leading 23-21, Glover took a set from sophomore Sara Shanks and slammed it home to cut her team's deficit to one. Back-to-back UT attack errors then put the Tigers up a score before an ace by Shanks ended the frame.
The Lady Vol offense came alive in the second set as they hit at a stellar .481 clip to pick up a 25-11 triumph and tie the match at a frame apiece. Clarke led the Orange and White attack with five putaways, while Marshall added three kills, seven digs and a block.
With the scoreboard reading 5-4 in its favor, the Big Orange embarked on an 11-1 run that featured four Auburn attack errors, three kills by Marshall, two by Flynn and one each from both Clarke and Powe. Now leading by a commanding 17-6 score, Auburn attempted to mount a comeback, scoring on three consecutive plays, but UT was not going to let that happen. Following the short AU run, the Lady Vols effectively ended the frame by scoring on seven of the next eight plays with a four-score spree and a three-point run sandwiched around a single Tiger point.
Clarke opened the first run with a powerful cross-court blast from the left side, which was followed by a back-row kill from Fowler, an ace by freshman Amanda Friday and a sharp block by Hilby and Marshall.
A service error ended that streak, but UT picked up right where it left off, getting a kill by Clarke and back-to-back aces from Marshall to go up 24-10. Following a kill by Glover, Fowler ended the frame with a roll shot down the left-side line.
Much like the opening frame, Auburn raced out to an early 5-1 lead. This time, however, Tennessee quickly regained control and kept the momentum on their side for the remainder of the frame, using four runs of three or more points to tally a 25-19 victory.
With the score tied at eight-all, the Big Orange took off on a three-point spree that included a sharp block by Flynn and Powe, as well as an ace by Fowler that landed just inside the back line. Auburn kept the score close though, remaining within striking distance until Tennessee broke open the frame with a 6-1 run that moved the score from 15-14 to 21-15.
During that streak, UT took advantage of two AU errors in addition to getting kills from Powe and Marshall, an ace by Fowler and a block by Fowler and Powe. The Tigers were unable to mount any sort of comeback after that spree, before Clarke smashed home a kill straight down from the left side to bring the set to an end.
A hard-fought, back-and-forth battle ensued in the fourth set, with Auburn using a late run to earn a 25-20 decision and send the match to a decisive fifth set. Both teams remained within a single score of each other throughout the first half of the frame until a kill by Kelly Fidero put the Tigers up by two at 13-11. After the two squads traded the next three scores, another blast by Fidero sparked a three-point run that put AU up by four at 17-13.
Although UT was able to move within a pair of scores on four different occasions after that, another three-score tear by Auburn moved its lead to insurmountable 24-19. Following an attack error by Fidero, Glover finished off the set with a kill from the left side to set the table for the eventful fifth frame.
Tennessee will next be in action when it closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule with a showdown against border-rival and No. 19 Kentucky. UT will make the short trip to Lexington, Ky., on Fri., Nov. 28 to take on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Vols will then await word in regards to their NCAA Tournament hopes. The Orange and White's fate will be decided during the NCAA Selection Show, which is scheduled to air between 10-10:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 30 on ESPNews.
