University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
8-20, 1-13SEC
LSU
16-7, 11-3SEC
Lady Vols Downed by LSU in Baton Rouge
November 14, 2014 | Volleyball
Johnson's double dip was the second in her career on Rocky Top and second of the season. After entering the match at setter early in the contest, she finished with 28 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double since Oct. 17 at Mississippi State. Meanwhile, Jimenez's 11 kills led the Lady Vols, followed by nine from sophomore Jamie Lea.
As a team, Tennessee struggled to find its offensive rhythm as it finished with a hitting efficiency of just .052. LSU, which finished with 15.0 total team blocks compared to just 2.0 from UT, closed the match with a .244 attack percentage.
Trailing 2-0, Tennessee extended the match behind a gutsy effort in the third set. The Lady Vols finally found some offensive rhythm, finishing the frame with a hitting efficiency of .282 -- their best in the match to that point. The offense came to life when UT used a 9-2 run to break open a 12-12 deadlock midway through the set. The spurt gave the Lady Vols a 21-14 lead and some valuable breathing room as LSU would make a late charge, but a kill from Hembry eventually settled the stanza at 25-21 in favor of UT.
Hembry would finish the contest with seven kills and two blocks.
Jimenez delivered five of her 11 kills during that third frame while Lea added four more. UT committed just three attack errors on 39 attempts in the third stanza.
The Lady Vols rode the momentum into the early stages of the fourth set, but the Tigers used a 7-2 spurt midway through the game to propel themselves to the clinching 25-16 victory.
Libero Megan Hatcher led UT with 17 digs on the evening, and after Johnson's 10 scoops, Jimenez flirted with the double-double at eight.
Freshman Kendra Turner, a native of LaPlace, Louisiana, finished with three kills in her first career trip into her home state.
The Lady Vols return to action on Sunday when they wrap up their three-match road trip at Texas A&M. That fixture gets underway at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live online through SEC Network +.
