Lady Vols Fall In Thriller At Kentucky

Wednesday, October 12

Lexington, KY

8 PM

University of Tennessee

15-3, 8-1SEC

Kentucky

17-3, 8-1SEC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Tennessee	24	26	20	26	13	2
Kentucky	26	24	25	24	15	3

October 12, 2011 | Volleyball

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Oct. 12, 2011

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By Todd Mounce, Media Relations Graduate Assistant

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 18 University of Tennessee Lady Vol volleyball team did its best to subdue a rowdy crowd of 1,959 rowdy Kentucky fans, but came up just short, falling in five set, 24-26, 26-24, 20-25, 26-24, 13-15, to No. 25 UK in a Wednesday evening match televised nationally by ESPNU at Memorial Coliseum.

"It was a match that was, on both sides, kind of a gritty match," UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "I don't think either side played their best volleyball, but I thought both sides played hard. It was two pretty evenly matched teams going at it. My hat's off to Kentucky, they made some plays when they needed to and that was the difference in the match."

"I'm proud of my team. We've been on the road for what seems like forever and I think it is starting to catch up to us a little bit. We gave everything we could out there. We're still 8-1 and tied for first place (in the SEC). We'll take that. We've played arguably our three hardest SEC matches on the road in the first half of the season and we still have a lot of tough matches left and a lot of volleyball to go. The reality is that we are still tied for first place and we are excited about that."

The heartbreaking defeat halts UT's winning streak at 11, along with putting an end to eight straight SEC wins. The Orange and White now stand at 15-3, 8-1 in Southeastern Conference play, while still controlling its own destiny in the league.

Three Lady Vols recorded double digits in kills, as reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Kelsey Robinson led the way, recording her SEC-leading 13th double-double on the season with 19 kills and 15 digs. Along with Robinson, junior DeeDee Harrison slammed down 15 balls and fellow junior Leslie Cikra tallied 11 kills. Harrison and Cikra also led the team in blocks, as Harrison registered six, two being solo, while Cikra batted down four.

Sophomore libero Ellen Mullins continues to be a force in the back row, digging a career-high 31 balls, which is the most in an SEC match this season.

After the two teams split four incredibly close frames to open the match, it became a race to 15 in the fifth and final set. An already tense match only increased in intensity as the score was tied at points two though seven.UK scored the next two to grab a 9-7 lead, but a miscue on the part of the Wildcats got Tennessee to within one, 9-8. The Big Orange got within a point again at 10-9 as a result of another UK miscue.

As a result of back-to-back Wildcat points, UT called a timeout down 12-9. Robinson put the team on her back, registering the next three points, all kills, to even the score at 12. Kentucky would go on to score the next two, but a laser by Cikra cut the deficit to one and gave UT the serve. The ensuing serve had a tab too much adrenaline and landed just long however, giving UK the win and Tennessee its first conference loss.

The opening frame proved to be a sign of things to come as Kentucky barely outlasted the Lady Vols, 26-24, to take an early lead. With the score at two apiece early in the first frame, back-to-back kills from Cikra and a UK attack error gave the Lady Vols a 5-2 lead. The Lady Vols would again extend their lead to three, 7-4, after an attack error. The Wildcats would rally, scoring the next three to even things up at seven.

A blast by Robinson regained the lead for UT, 8-7, but the Wildcats would rattle off the next five points to grab a 12-8 advantage. A serving error long ended the Wildcat streak and cut the UK lead to three, 12-9, and on three more occasions, 13-10, 14-11 and 15-12 before going on a run of their own.

Down four, 16-12, two kills by Carly Sahagian cut the Wildcat lead to two, 16-14. UK would score three of the next four to make the score 19-15 in its favor. Not to be outdone, a bomb by freshman Shealyn Kolosky ignited a Lady Vol rally, as the team went on to score five and regain the lead, 20-19. During that 5-0 rally, Kolosky, Harrison and Robinson all had kills to go along with two UK miscues.

As comebacks were the theme of the set, the Wildcats would score five of the next six, giving them the lead 24-21 and the serve for the set. A serving error and an attack error by Kentucky forced the Wildcats to call a timeout, leading 24-23. Cikra and Harrison combined to send a UK attack back, evening the set at 24-24. It was not meant to be, as two Tennessee errors ended the set, as the Wildcats took the first point of the match by winning the opening frame, 26-24.

Kentucky outhit the Lady Vols .267 to .171, but Harrison was a perfect 3-3 on attacks. Robinson led the team in kills, registering four.

In the second set, the two squads traded points until the score was 4-4, when the Lady Vols went on a 3-0 run behind two blasts from freshman Tiffany Baker and a kill from Kolosky to give UT a 7-4 lead. UK would score the next four to regain the lead, 8-7, but its lead would not last long as another kill from Baker and two Wildcat errors made the score 10-8 in favor the Big Orange.

After UK scored the next two, a Robinson kill and a UK miscue gave UT another two point lead, 12-10. Kentucky would rebound, evening the set up at 12, before a kill from Robinson and a block by Harrison and Cikra allowed the Orange and White to regain the lead at 14-12. Another put back from Harrison and Cikra gave the Lady Vols a three point lead, 16-13.

The Wildcats scored the five of the ensuing six, as UK regained the lead, 18-17. The lead didn't last long, as after a UT timeout; a kill from Baker knotted the match back up, this time at 18. The Wildcats would regain and extend their lead to three, 23-20, forcing Patrick to call a timeout.

The break in the action was just what the Lady Vols needed, as they scored the next four points by way of kills from Robinson and Harrison and two Wildcat errors. With the lead, 24-23, the Big Orange hit the ensuing serve into the net, but back-to-back kills from Harrison propelled Tennessee to grab the second set, 26-24.

It was the first time all season UK lost a set when the set went beyond 25 points. In the second frame, the Orange and White defense limited Kentucky to a mere .104 hitting percentage, while Harrison and Robinson notched four kills in the set.

The third set was won by the Wildcats in dominating fashion, grabbing the first point and never looking back. UK lead wire-to-wire, as UT could get no closer than within four. After scoring the first four points of the set and 10 of the first 12, the Orange and White cut the deficit to four, 10-6, behind a kill and a solo block from Harrison, plus two UK errors.

At 17-11, a smash by Harrison and a UK attack error again got UT within four, 17-13, but UT couldn't cut any further into the deficit. Back-to-back kills by Baker and Pollmiller made the score 23-19, but UK scored the two of the next three to claim the set, 25-20, and regain the match lead at 2-1.

The Lady Vols showed their resiliency in the fourth set, in a battle of wills all the way to the end. The Orange and White scored four of the first six points in the fourth frame, as Harrison, Sahagian and Cikra all contributed kills. A miscue on the part of UK and a blast from Cikra pushed UT's lead out to three, 6-3.

Kentucky would score the next five however, before kills from Baker and Kolosky evened the match at eight apiece. The Wildcats would regain the lead at 11-8, but two Robinson kills, a block by Robinson, a Harrison kill and a bad set by UK put the Lady Vols back on top, 13-12. The teams would be deadlocked at points 13 and 14 before Tennessee, down 15-14, scored the next five, as three Wildcat errors and kills from Baker and Cikra gave the Orange and White the 19-15 advantage.

Late in the set, with UT up 23-20, the Wildcats made things interesting, going on a 4-0 rally to grab the lead, 24-23. Tennessee would not be denied however, as a Robinson kill, a UK attack error and a solo block from Harrison gave the Lady Vols the set 26-24, and evened the match at two apiece to set up the dramatic fifth frame.

The team will look to rebound when it returns to court on Sunday, as it travels to Starkville, Miss., to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. CT.