University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
2-0
Cleveland State
0-2
UT Dispatches Cleveland State, 3-1
August 30, 2014 | Volleyball
BOONE, N.C. -- Tennessee responded to a game one setback by capturing the next three sets in order en route to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16) win over Cleveland State at the Appalachian Invitational Saturday morning. The match was one of two on the day, as the Lady Vols will now look to depart the Invitational unblemished when they face host Appalachian State at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
Freshman Kanisha Jimenez notched her first career double-double, turning in 11 kills to go with a team-high 20 digs. Lexi Dempsey also finished with a double-dip -- her first of the season -- after digging out 10 balls to go along with a match-high 37 assists.
"We didn't play very well in the first set and part of that was because Cleveland State came out and really took it to us," said head coach Rob Patrick. "They played great defense and they served tough and we weren't able to handle that at the beginning of the set. But I spoke to the team and told them, `the only way we're going to get back in this match is fighting.' I was so proud of this team in how every point in that second set they had to fight to win. They really cleaned up our side of the net and got more organized. We didn't play pretty, but I was so proud in how we kept grinding every point."
CSU (0-2) took control of the match early with a 25-15 win in set one. The Vikings led by as many as eight in the frame behind a team hitting percentage of .258 compared to .071 for Tennessee.
Seeking to avoid a 2-0 hole, the Lady Vols (2-0) found themselves in a dogfight in the second set. Tightly contested throughout, the set came down to the wire when CSU knotted things at 21-21 after a kill from Ally Beck. But the next four points went the way of UT - a rally sparked by a kill from Jimenez and back-to-back blocks up front. Freshman Iesha Bryant had a hand in both of the blocks, combining with Jimenez to bring the tally to 23-21 before teaming up with Lea to reach set-point.
In all, Iesha Bryant had a hand in nine blocks on the morning while Jimenez finished with six.
"Kanisha is really coming into her own, learning what collegiate volleyball is all about," Patrick said. "Coming from Puerto Rico, she's doing a fantastic job of adapting. She emphasized her defense today and played really hard on defense. She was one of the catalysts that really turned this match around in the second set because of some great defensive plays she made."
Also coming up big in the second set was outside hitter Ashley Mariani. The sophomore came away with six kills in the set and went on to post a match-high 15.
"Ashley Mariani did some very, very good things," said Patrick of the Arlington, Texas, native. "She's been doing a fantastic job of playing consistent out there. She's keeping the ball in play and getting some kills, even in transition. I'm very happy with her play and how she's been able to pick up on that outside hitter position so quickly. "
With the sets now level, Tennessee looked well on its way to grabbing the second set when it piece together a 7-1 run midway through the game to take a 19-11 lead. Jimenez was prominent in the rally, posting a solo block and punctuating the spurt with three consecutive kills. CSU refused to go away, though, scoring six of the next nine points to pull itself back to within five at 22-17. But UT was content to trade points down the stretch, ultimately sealing a 25-21 decision on Bryant's kill.
Riding the momentum of back-to-back set wins, Tennessee opened a big cushion early in the fourth set. Consecutive kills from Mariani and Raina Hembry gave UT a 13-5 lead -- an advantage that promptly grew to 18-7 after a rally that featured more kills from Hembry and Jimenez. The count would favor the Lady Vols by as many as 12 in the set after a CSU attack error made the score 23-11. The Vikings would piece together a brief 5-0 run in the dying embers of the match, but it was too little too late as UT grabbed a 25-16 win to seal the victory.
Two more freshmen made their Orange and White debuts on Saturday in defensive specialist Claudia Coco and outside hitter Kelsey Bawcombe. Coco logged 11 digs over three sets while Bawcombe appeared in two of the four sets in service situations.
"Claudia went in there and really dug some balls for us in the back row. I was really excited about how she was able to perform in a match," Patrick said. "Then Kelsey Bawcombe came off the bench and served some real nice balls for us and got a taste of action. Both of them came in and did exactly what we wanted them to do. They played like veterans and had a positive effect on the match."
Raina Hembry had nine kills against CSU and Jamie Lea finished with seven.
