University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
20-9, 6-8
Kentucky
18-7, 11-2
Vols Fall to No. 21 Kentucky, 3-0
November 08, 2015 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Volunteers lost their second match against a top-25 ranked opponent this season Sunday, falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-13) to No. 21 Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols (20-9, 6-8 SEC) have dropped three consecutive conference matches. After two close sets, Kentucky pulled away midway through the third set with a 16-2 run to end the match.
Outside hitters Kanisha Jimenez and Kendra Turner finished with 10 kills and nine kills respective. Making her first start in SEC play, Stephanie Buss had six kills and five blocks.
"Overall, I was happy with the effort that we put out there, especially with players having to play different positions with different responsibilities due to the lineup changes we had to make," Tennessee volleyball coach Rob Patrick said. "I was very happy with the play of our outside hitters, especially Stephanie Buss, who did a wonderful job in the front row offensively and with five blocks."
The Vols have a pair of road matches this weekend, against South Carolina on Wednesday and No. 11 Florida on Sunday.
Two early kills by Kanisha Jimenez gave the Vols a 4-3 lead to start off the match, but Kentucky answered by reeling off five straight points to gain control of the set. After trailing 17-11, the Vols cut Kentucky's lead to three on three separate occasions, but could get no closer than that. The Wildcats held off the Vols to take the first set 25-20.
The Vols fell behind early in the second set, but quickly rallied back with four straight points to tie the set at 5-5. Tennessee and Kentucky battled back and forth, with the lead never reaching more than three points on either side. A block by Erica Treiber and Kanisha Jimenez tied the set at 21-21, but the Wildcats won four of the next five points to win the set 25-22.
Coming out of the break, Tennessee started strong, grabbing a 9-7 lead. The Vols' momentum came to a close, as Kentucky went on a 16-2 run to close out the final set, 25-13.
