University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
4-4
Kennesaw State
4-4
Turner, Lea Power UT Past Kennesaw State
September 12, 2014 | Volleyball
CONWAY, S.C. -- After dropping the contest's first set, Tennessee responded with three consecutive wins to claim the opener of the Coastal Carolina Tournament 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19) over Kennesaw State. The Lady Vols were propelled by a season-high 19 kills from Kendra Turner and 18 more from Jamie Lea.
"Today we really needed a lot of production from our outside hitters," said UT head coach Rob Patrick. "Both Kendra and Jamie did a wonderful job of getting kills and not making too many errors on their swings. Kendra really came up big, playing a low-error game in what is essentially the second match of her career. Jamie brings a pretty high level of consistency for us, taking big swings for us. She's been more consistent on those swings and I'm very happy about that."
After dropping set one to KSU (4-4), Turner and Lea provided the spark that Tennessee (4-4) needed to rally over the final sets. Turner tallied three kills in the first set, but got hot over the final three, finishing with sets of five, five, and six kills to close out the match with a season-best 19. Effective and efficient in her swings, Turner's match-high kill total came with a stellar attack percentage of .375 after producing only four errors in 40 swings.
Meanwhile, Lea completed the one-two punch over the final two frames, tallying a combined 11 kills in sets three and four to help put the match away. Lea's strong performance extended into defensive situations as well as the sophomore tallied 12 digs to complete her first double-double of the season. Lea also contributed four total blocks to the victory.
"The other thing about Jamie Lea is her passing," Patrick said. "She has been passing the ball fantastic, playing six rotations. She's playing at a high level, not just at the front row, but she's doing some great things in the back row."
Also finishing the match with a double-double was setter Lexi Dempsey. The junior set a season-high in assists for the second straight match with 44 and also scooped up a team-high 13 digs.
Tennessee's physicality at the net was also evident on the defensive front. The quartet of Kanisha Jimenez, Iesha Bryant, Raina Hembry, and Lea combined for all 23 of UT's total combined blocks on the morning. Jimenez led the way with seven total blocks, with one solo, while Bryant and Hembry each followed with six total stuffs and one solo each.
The staunch effort at the net helped the Lady Vols limit Kennesaw State to an attack percentage of just .148. The Owls took 176 swings for the match, and suffered 31 errors alongside their 57 kills.
With the match tied at one game apiece, UT and KSU battled through the most grueling set of the match in the third. Featuring 12 ties and five lead changes, the Lady Vols were the first to gain any separation when Raina Hembry delivered back-to-back kills to give Tennessee a 10-8 lead. The advantage would grow to as much as three when Turner slammed one of her five kills in the frame to make the score 15-12. KSU fought right back, using a 4-0 run to overtake the Lady Vols at 16-15 and set up a barnburner finish.
A Lea kill on the next point gave UT a lead it would never relinquish, though the Owls would tie the set one last time at 23-all after a Lady Vol attack error. But unanswered kills from Jimenez and Lea secured the 25-23 third set win for Tennessee and provided valuable momentum entering what proved to be the decisive fourth frame.
In the fourth, UT pulled away in the middle stages, aided by a serious of four consecutive points off the hands of Bryant. The 4-0 rally, which featured two kills and two blocks from Bryant, put the Lady Vols up for good as they went on to pick up their second straight victory.
Tennessee returns to action Friday evening in a 5 p.m. ET jmatch against Loyola Maryland. The Greyhounds are 1-6 on the season and faced host Coastal Carolina following the UT-KSU match. The Coastal Carolina Tournament comes to a close on Saturday when the Lady Vols meet CCU at 1 p.m.
