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Nov. 20, 2009

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Playing in front of the third largest crowd in program history, the University of Tennessee volleyball team (21-7, 14-4 Southeastern Conference) claimed an impressive come-from-behind triumph over 13th-ranked Florida (20-5, 14-4) on Friday evening, winning in four sets, 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-22, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. A total of 1,532 Orange and White-clad faithful witnessed the Lady Volunteers' second victory over a ranked team this season and fourth in the past three years.

"I could not be more proud of our team," UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. "This was just a great win for our program. Our team played a very focused and determined match. We could have easily packed our bags after the first set, but we showed tremendous resiliency in fighting for each point the rest of the way. This was a battle between two top-20 teams, but we were able to make a couple of big plays at the right times to come away with the win.

"I want to thank the Big Orange fans for their support tonight," Patrick said. "The crowd had a huge impact, especially when the momentum was turning in the fourth set. Tennessee has the best fans in the country and they proved that again this evening. I want to specifically thank the students as well. They came out in droves and definitely made their presence felt."

The winner of the last two SEC Offensive Player of the Week awards, junior Nikki Fowler continued her incredible play with a match-high 19 kills and 16 digs to increase her consecutive double-double streak to 12 and give her 33 in her career. She now has 22 matches with double-digit kill totals in her three years at Rocky Top and 18 contests with 10+ digs.

"I felt we were in a good position when we were going into the locker room tied at one set each, despite the fact that Nikki wasn't playing her normal, consistent brand of volleyball," Patrick said. "I thought she did a tremendous job of regrouping at the break and played at an extremely high level the rest of the match. She started taking control at the net offensively and did a great job of serving aggressively, which was a big factor in getting Florida out of its offense a little bit."

As a team, the Big Orange outhit the Gators, .219 to .139, holding UF to its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season. It also collected more kills (58 to 53), had nine more digs (81-73) and six more assists (55 to 50). It was a tale of two halves, as Tennessee kept the Florida offense in check over the course of the final two sets, holding the Gators to a miniscule .002 attack average (21-19-90) after they hit .265 (32-10-83) in the opening two frames. Leading the Orange and White's defensive effort was senior Chloe Goldman, who notched a team-high 21 digs in the win, marking the 35th time in her career that she has surpassed 20 scoops in a single match.

"Florida is one of the top offensive teams in the country and has tremendous athletes that play the game at the very highest level," Patrick said. "To be able to hold them to a .139 hitting percentage is a testament to the tremendous effort our team put out on the defensive end. Chloe was a big reason for that success, as usual. She did a great job of controlling some well-struck attacks, as well as being rock solid in the serve-receive department."

Senior Kylie Marshall also notched a double-double, her second of the season, with 11 kills and 15 digs. The Puyallup, Wash., native hit at a stellar .321 clip with just two errors in 28 attempts and added three blocks, while moving into fourth on UT's all-time career digs chart. She now has a total of 1,319 scoops in her four years at Rocky Top, surpassing Stephanie Ehlers lifetime total of 1,312. Fellow classmate Farren Powe also had a strong showing, hitting .292 for the match with 10 kills and a squad-high four blocks.

"Kylie Marshall kept us in the match with her offensive outburst tonight," Patrick said. "Like Chloe, she has been a mainstay in serve-receive as well. Along with her attacking, her blocking at the net helped slow down a very potent Florida offense. It's really exciting to see her and Farren play integral roles in such a big win at the end of their senior seasons."

Pacing the Lady Vol attack was sophomore setter Kelsey Mahoney, who became the third player on the squad to record a double-double on Friday with 46 assists and 14 digs. She picked up a pair of blocks, including the first solo putback of her career, an ace and a kill as well. Also standing out on the stat sheet for Tennessee was sophomore Kayla Jeter, who finished second on the team behind Fowler with 12 putaways, in addition to collecting six digs and three blocks.

"Kelsey's play as of late has been critical to our success since we switched from the 6-2 to a 5-1," Patrick said. "She has really adjusted well to having her hitters in different positions on the court, but still being able to find them for kills. She did an outstanding job of putting the ball in our hitter's favorite spots and making it easy for them to be successful. She did everything she could defensively as well, digging, blocking and just working hard to set balls in transition. I'm proud of her for playing such a gutsy match tonight."

Despite five kills from both Jeter and Fowler, eight digs by Marshall and the fact that it raced out to a commanding 19-13 lead, Tennessee was unable to close out the opening frame, eventually falling 25-22 after the Gators closed out the set on a 12-3 tear.

The Orange and White was impressive early on, scoring six of the first seven points of the contest with a pair of 3-0 runs separated by a single UF score. Jeter kicked things off when she found the hardwood for a kill on the opening play. The Solon, Ohio, native then teamed up with Powe to block an attack by Kelly Murphy before Fowler tipped one over the right side block to make it 3-0 in favor of UT.

Although Florida answered with its first point of the match on a kill by Kristy Jaeckel, Tennessee picked up right where it left off with putaways by both Jeter and Powe and a solo block by Marshall, which prompted UF Head Coach Mary Wise to call her first timeout. Just moments later, the Lady Vols added another 3-0 spurt, featuring kills by Marshall, Jeter and Mahoney, to increase their lead to nine at 13-4. A Fowler blast from the back row two plays later made it 14-5 and forced Wise to burn her second and final timeout of the frame.

The tactic seemed to halt Tennessee's momentum just enough to allow the Gators to slowly work their way back into the set. With UT leading 19-13, Florida came roaring back with six consecutive scores to tie it up at 19-all. Although the Big Orange took the lead back with a Jeter kill off the left-side block and a Colleen Ward attack error, it was not enough as UF responded by claiming six of the final seven points to win the frame, 25-22.

The second set was a virtual mirror image of the first, as Florida took an early lead only to see Tennessee catch fire late to win a hard-fought 25-23 decision. Both Marshall and Jeter pounded out four kills in the frame, while Mahoney was effective all over the court, dishing out nine assists and collecting seven digs, a block and an ace.

After a Gator attack error and a Fowler kill on a tip over the right-side block gave UT the first two scores, Florida took control, using three kills, two blocks and a Lady Vol attack error to win the next six points. After back-to-back UF miscues cut the Orange and White deficit to just two at 7-9, the Gators returned it to six with a 5-1 spree, capped off by a sharp, cross-court shot by Murphy.

The UF All-American gave the ball right back to Tennessee with a service ace on the next play, however. The Lady Vols took full advantage of the opportunity, as sophomore Amanda Friday followed by acing the Gator's standout libero, Elyse Cusack, and Marshall took an overpass and slammed it home to make it 15-12 in favor of Florida.

The Big Orange continued to slowly inch its way back into contention, eventually moving within a single score at 18-19 following a block by Powe and Mahoney on a swing by Ward. The Gators had an answer once again though, going back up by three when Ward powered one past the left-side block for a kill and Cusack served an ace, prompting Patrick to call his second timeout of the set.

The short break seemed to be just what Tennessee needed, as they brought the frame back to a deadlock at 21-21 with consecutive kills by Jeter and Marshall and an ace by Mahoney that caught the tape and fell on the Gators' side of the court. The two squads then traded the next three scores before UT finished off the set with three straight points to tie the match at one-set all at the intermission. Powe opened the frame-ending run by slamming home a set from Mahoney and Fowler followed by converting a free-ball by Florida into a kill from the right side. An attack error by Callie Rivers, her first of the match, then closed out the set.

After a slow start in the first two frames, Fowler finally found her rhythm in the third, hitting at a stellar .538 clip with seven kills and no errors on 13 swings, to lead UT to a dominating 25-15 victory. Powe and Goldman were also impressive, hitting .429 (4-1-7) and recording seven digs, respectively, as the Big Orange held the Gators to a -.024 hitting percentage.

Much like the second set, Florida took an early lead, following two Tennessee scores with five straight points. This time, however, the Lady Vol response would come much sooner as they immediately answered with an impressive 14-2 run, including two separate spurts of six straight scores.

With UF leading 5-2, three consecutive Gator attack errors brought the frame back to a tie. Following a Fowler kill that landed wide off the right-side block, Florida gave the Orange and White yet another point when a Ward attack fell long. Once again, Fowler followed by crushing a kill cross-court from the right side to give her team an 8-5 advantage and give Wise reason to call her first timeout.

Although the stoppage in play netter UF a score on a block by Rivers and Cassandra Anderson, Powe blasted one to the back-row that Cusack couldn't handle to get it right back. Fowler then powered one past the Gator block to make it 10-6. Following an Anderson kill, Marshall got UT rolling once again, sparking a 6-0 Lady Vol run with back-to-back putaways. The first came on a cross-court rollshot, while she tipped one over the block after a diving dig by Fowler for the second.

Fowler kept the momentum with Tennessee, dropping the hammer from the back row on the next play and serving an ace after a Rivers attack error to force Wise to burn her second and final timeout of the frame. After the break, yet another Rivers miscue put the Orange and White up by a commanding nine scores at 16-7. Although the Gators would slow down UT for a bit, closing the gap to seven at 19-12, it would be too little, too late.

Powe got the Lady Vols back on track with consecutive kills, and Fowler followed with a pair of her own putaways, including an absolute laser down the right-side line, to move UT within two scores of winning the frame at 23-12. The final UF push saw them tally three straight before another kill by Powe and an attack error by Lauren Bledsoe finished off the dominating 25-15 UT triumph.

With victory in their sights, the Lady Vols outhit the Gators, .175 to .062, and used a four-kill, 10-dig performance by Fowler to claim the final frame, 25-22, and the match, three sets to one. The win marked UT's first over Florida since 2005 and first four-set triumph over UF since 1990.

Despite the final outcome, Tennessee actually trailed for most of the set, finding itself down by four 11-15 at the halfway point. A back-and-forth battle ensued with the two squads siding out on each of the next 10 plays. The Orange and White was the first team to string together consecutive scores, moving the tally on the scoreboard to 18-20 with a kill by Fowler from the outside and a block by Marshall and Powe on a swing by Jaeckel, prompting Wise to call her first timeout.

After the short break, the Gators looked as if they were going to send the match to a fifth and deciding set by claiming two of the next three scores to take a 22-19 lead. The Big Orange had other ideas, however, finishing the contest off on a 6-0 tear to pick up the victory. A service error by Erin Fleming and an attack error by Murphy helped Tennessee get its feet back under itself and Hinkey slammed home an overpass on the next play to tie things up at 22-22 and force the Gators to burn their final timeout.

Marshall kept UT on track for the win after the break by tipping one to the middle of the court for a kill. Following yet another Murphy error on a tip that found the net, freshman Leslie Cikra and Hinkey joined forces to stuff a Ward attack to finish off the set and put an exclamation point on the victory.

The Lady Vols will next be in action Sunday when they host South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Prior to the match, Tennessee will honor Goldman, Marshall, Powe and Carol Cheade in "Senior Day" festivities. Following that contest, the Orange and White will close out the 2009 regular season against No. 11 Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25.