NO. 22 TENNESSEE REACHES 20 WINS WITH SWEEP AT ALABAMA
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 22 University of Tennessee volleyball team crossed the 20-win threshold for the third straight season and 18th time in school history on Friday night as it picked up its third consecutive sweep with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-22, victory over Alabama at the Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension in Tuscaloosa.
The win improves the Lady Volunteers’ record to 20-5 overall and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Crimson Tide falls to 9-15 for the season and 1-13 in league action.
“We’re very excited about getting our 20th win,” UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. “That’s kind of a benchmark for a very successful season. Alabama played a great match and didn’t make many errors which forced us to earn each and every point. Our team has been working really hard and we are pleased with where our young players are in terms of their development. Hopefully, we can use tonight’s win to help us continue to build some momentum as we try to finish the season strong.”
Much of UT’s success was due to its continued ability to spread the ball around offensively as it had six different players record at least four kills for the 15th time this season. As a team, the Big Orange out-hit Alabama, .297 to .144, led by 12 kills from senior Nikki Fowler. The Dallas, Texas, native also added seven digs and five assists in another solid all-around effort.
Just behind her in the kills category was a trio of Lady Vols as freshman Kelsey Robinson, sophomore Leslie Cikra and junior Kayla Jeter all tallied nine kills. Middle blockers Leah Hinkey and DeeDee Harrison combined for 11 kills with six and five, respectively, with Hinkey doing so on .455 hitting and Harrison recording a .556 attack average.
“We’re doing a great job of spreading the ball around to all of our hitters and one thing we’ve really tried to do lately is to get some of our other players, like Leslie Cikra and Kelsey Robinson, involved in the offense more,” Patrick said. “They have done a fantastic job of taking care of the ball, letting the offense come to them and not trying to do too much when they don’t have a chance to take a great swing. Our setters are also doing a wonderful job of putting the ball in good spots for both them, so we are really able to use them to their full offensive potential which isn’t something we were necessarily able to do earlier in the season.”
Robinson topped a solid UT defensive effort with 17 digs, followed by 12 by Jeter and 11 by freshman libero Ellen Mullins. Robinson also notched three blocks to tie Harrison for second in that category behind only Hinkey who had five putbacks in the match.
“Leah has always been a very good blocker for us because she takes it to heart,” Patrick said. “When you add that to her great hitting percentage on the other side of the net, she has become an all-around, elite middle hitter. She starts the defense for us in the middle, being able to close blocks and at least touch the ball if she isn’t blocking it straight down. We’re excited that she is playing such great volleyball and she really leads our defense when she is in there.”
The Lady Vols came out firing on all cylinders in the opening frame, connecting for kills on seven of their first 10 swings en route to a 25-17 triumph. Tennessee hit at a stellar .371 clip as a team, paced by five kills on .444 hitting by Cikra, while holding the Crimson Tide to a .121 attack average.
The Big Orange wasted little time grabbing the momentum, turning a 4-4 tie into an 11-6 lead in almost no time at all thanks to a 7-2 run. Fowler kicked off the first spree, which lasted four points, with a sharp cross-court putaway from the right side. A pair of kills by Cikra, sandwiched around an Alabama miscue, then forced Tide Head Coach Judy Green to burn her first timeout of the match.
The tactic helped her squad net a couple of quick points, but a service error gave the ball back to UT and it took full advantage with Harrison recording a solo block and Jeter slamming home an over pass to put the Lady Vols up by six.
Although Alabama would respond with three straight scores of its own to move back within two at 11-9, that would be as close as they would get as Tennessee proceeded to rattle off a 5-0 spree to effectively put the frame away. Harrison jumpstarted the run with a kill on a broken play before Jeter and Hinkey joined forces to send home a swing by Kayla Fitterer.
UT would get a block on the next play as well, this time by Hinkey and Cikra as they absolutely stuffed a shot by Brianne Vande Griend. Cikra then hammered an over pass straight down for a kill to put the Big Orange up 15-9 as Alabama had to call its second and final timeout of the set. That would not end the run immediately though as the sixth score came on a Tide attack error on the first play out of the break. Holding a 16-9 lead at that point, Tennessee cruised the rest of the way, keeping Alabama from scoring consecutive points for the remainder of the frame.
The Lady Vols would struggle early in the second stanza, falling behind by as many as five points before a late surge allowed them to claim a hard-fought, 25-22, victory and take a two-set lead to the locker room at intermission. Despite some uncharacteristic errors, UT still pounded out 16 kills in the frame, led by four each from Cikra, Jeter and Fowler, while Robinson scooped up seven Crimson Tide attacks.
Alabama was undeterred by its opening set loss, as it raced out to a quick 4-1 lead before settling in to a five-point lead at the 12-7 mark. Tennessee finally started to get on track at that point, however, using a 6-1 scoring spree, featuring four kills and a pair of blocks, to tie the tally at 13-13.
UT would bring the set to a deadlock three more times before consecutive blasts off the right hands of Cikra and Jeter put the Big Orange back in front for good at 20-19. Following an Alabama timeout, the Lady Vols picked up right where they left off, taking advantage of a Tide attack error and getting a huge block by Jeter and Hinkey following an extremely long rally that was kept alive by a number of fantastic, diving digs by Robinson.
That putback gave Tennessee a 22-19 advantage as Green was forced to burn her second and final timeout. From there, the two teams would trade the final six points before Harrison unleashed a scintillating hammer straight down from her middle hitter position to bring the frame to a close with UT up by three.
The third set saw the Lady Vols at full force offensively as they blasted out 18 kills on .302 hitting to finish off the sweep with another 25-22 victory. Robinson really picked up her game, smashing out six putaways, hitting .500 and collecting seven digs to lead the Big Orange in the frame.
After opening the stanza with three straight points on an Alabama attack error, an ace by Emily Steinbeck and a kill by Jeter, Tennessee eventually found itself up by two with the scoreboard reading 8-6 in its favor. At that point, a Robinson putaway and three consecutive Tide miscues extended its lead to a commanding six scores at 12-6.
Alabama refused to go away easily though, clawing its way back to within a single score at 19-18, but the Orange and White was not going to let its lead slip away. Following a timeout by Patrick, Hinkey got UT back on track with a kill on a tip over the opposing middle blocker.
Although Alabama answered with a putaway of its own, the Big Orange used a back-row blast by Robinson and a bruising blow by Fowler down the right-side line that the Crimson Tide libero couldn’t handle to go ahead 22-19. After Green called her final timeout of the contest, the two teams traded the next six scores before a monstrous block by Cikra and Harrison put an exclamation mark on the set and the match.
Tennessee will be back in action this Sunday when it travels to Starkville, Miss., for a 1:30 p.m. showdown with Mississippi State at the Newell-Grissom Building.
“Mississippi State is a young team playing with great energy,” Patrick said. “They have some very athletic players on the court and we are really going to have to take care of the ball on our side of the net, play consistently and not give them anything.”
For the most up-to-date information on the Lady Vol volleyball team, make sure you follow @UTLadyVols and @UTVolleyball on Twitter.
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