University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
2-1
Appalachian State
3-0
App State Hands UT Only Weekend Blemish
August 30, 2014 | Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2014
BOONE, N.C. -- Tennessee fell just short in its bid for an unblemished opening weekend, falling 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-) at the hands of host Appalachian State Saturday night in the final match of the Appalachian Invitational. UT had picked up victories over Tennessee Tech and Cleveland State prior to the defeat.
"We ran into a buzz saw tonight," said head coach Rob Patrick. "Appalachian State played an absolutely great match. Our experience level didn't match up with theirs. Their tough serving put us into one-hitter situations quite a bit and their defense was able to dig that ball up and they were able to run their offense. They have a very, very quick offense to the pins and we just weren't able to catch up to it."
ASU (3-0) saw two players reach double-digits in kills and swung .351 as a team for the match. The Lady Vols (2-1), on the other hand, were limited to an attack percentage of just .147. Jamie Lea had eight kills to lead UT, followed by six from Iesha Bryant and five from Raina Hembry.
Heading the App State attack were Emily Corrigan, who tallied a match-high 16 kills at a .351 clip, and teammate Jess Keller's 13 at an impressive .407 mark. App State also bested Tennessee in total digs at 56 to 47 and in total assists at 48 to 31.
Following the conclusion of Saturday's match, Bryant and sophomore libero Bridgette Villano were named to the Appalachian Invitational All-Tournament team. Freshman Bryant posted 16 kills and 17 total blocks for the weekend, while Villano turned in a team-high 44 digs and a .955 reception percentage.
Set one was tight early as the two teams traded points up the midway point. The Lady Vols led only briefly, at 2-1, early in the set, but stayed close with the homestanding Mountaineers until the midway point when a Jamie Lea kill made the score 14-13 in favor of ASU. But App State rattled off the next eight points in a row, distancing itself from UT on its way to a 25-15 win.
The strong finish to the opening frame carried into the second set for the home team. The Mountaineers raced out to an 11-3 lead, piecing together a 5-0 run along the way. Faced with the eight-point deficit, UT made its move. The Lady Vols scored nine of the next 12 points to make the score 14-12 -- a rally sparked by freshman Kelsey Bawcombe. Bawcombe pounded back-to-back kills early in the sequence, then combined with fellow freshman Iesha Bryant for a big block.
UT got within a pair on two more occasions in the frame, but would come now closer with ASU content to trade points down the stretch on its way to a 25-21 win in the second set.
Another big Mountaineer run undid the Lady Vols in set three. UT took its only lead in the early portion of the game at 7-6, but App State regained the advantage by winning the next three points. Tennessee remained within striking distance until a huge 8-1 run for the Mountaineers at the halfway point sealed its fate. UT trailed by as much as 21-11 before ultimately falling 25-14.
"I like where we're at right now," said Patrick of his team's 2-1 finish to the weekend. "I told them even before this match that we're a little further ahead than where I thought we'd be. We got to play quite a few people this weekend. They're getting quite a bit of experience and I'm really excited about that because you can't replace experience."
Tennessee is back in action next weekend when it takes part in the Iowa State Challenge in Ames, Iowa. While there, the Lady Vols will face Northern Illinois and host ISU in a pair of Friday matches before concluding the weekend against Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night.
