We’re half way through the season and one big record has already been broken! How many more might be reached this year?
• Coaching Records
Rob Patrick recently became the winningest coach at Tennessee with 231 wins, surpassing Bob Bertucci’s 229 wins. The next closest person is Julie Hermann with 77 wins.• Kills per game – Career
Nikki Fowler is at #8 on this top ten list with 3.34 kpg. The top spot is held by Tamala Brightman (1990-93) with 4.32.• Attacks per game – Career
Nikki Fowler currently stands at 3rd place on this list with 9.56 attacks per game. Christina Jestila (1996-98) is 2nd with 9.60 and Kelly Hanlon (1995-1997) is 1st with 9.98.• Hitting Percentage – Career
Leah Hinkey, hitting .259 for her career, is just out of the top ten. #10 is Robin Maine (1980-83) with .264. On top of the chart is Beverly Robinson (1982-83) with .359.• Blocks per game – Career
Leah Hinkey holds the #2 spot on this chart with 1.28. She’s second only to Sarah Blum (2003-06) who had 1.55. Mindy Flynn stands at 5th with 0.98. Farren Powe and Nikki Fowler are just on the outside with 0.83 and 0.79. Donna Monaco (1984-86) is at #10 with 0.84.• Digs – Career
Chloe Goldman should enter the top ten of this list sometime this week. With 936 digs she is just 10 short of the #10 spot currently held by Lynn Lovingier (1995-98). With 835 digs Kylie Marshall is also nearing the top ten.• Digs per game – Career
Chloe Goldman currently holds the top spot on this chart with 4.14 digs per game. At #2 is Amy Morris (2003-05) who had 4.01. Kylie Marshall also has a spot on this list checking in at #5 with 2.89. Nikki Fowler could get on one day as she currently has 2.49 dpg, fairly close to the #10 spot held by Stephanie Ehlers (1985-88) with 2.64.• Attacks – Single Season
Nikki Fowler currently has 582 attacks in 2008. At this pace she’ll get close to #10 Kristy Dobson who had 1,107 attacks in 1990.• Blocks per game – Single Season
With 1.30 blocks per game, Alyssa Hilby is currently 7th on this chart. Sarah Blum (who holds the top four spots on the list) is the person to beat with 1.83 in 2006.• Digs – Single Season
Chloe Goldman, who already holds the #1 spot on this chart for 628 digs in 2007, in on pace to get her name on the list again this year. Half way through the season she is already at 260. At that rate she could get up to #2 or #3 by year’s end.• Digs per game – Single Season
Another record Chloe Goldman owns with 5.56 last year. And another list she’ll probably make this year where she currently stands at #3 with 4.64.NOTES:
• I accidentally posted the unfinished version of this article earlier today! It was not meant to be published until after the Louisville match. This is the complete version, with stats through tonight’s game.[ click to continue article… ]
Tennessee gets their tenth win of the season in a victory over Louisville, 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23). Nikki Fowler led the offense with 21 kills. Milan Clarke had 12 and Mindy Flynn added in nine more. Alysa Hilby had 7 blocks. Chloe Goldman had 22 digs Much more later.
UPDATE: Story and stats from Louisville online. Also UT has an post game audio interview with Coach Patrick up (look on the right side of the page). The Tennessee story should be up on that page soon, as well.
Adding to the above stats, Kelsey Mahoney had a double-double with 28 assists and 12 digs. Hilby hit .500 (6-2-8). Michaela Hanakova had 22 assists. And Kylie Marshall had 6 kills and 10 digs.
It’s hard to believe we’re already half way through the season! How is Tennessee stacking up to the competition so far? Here’s a look at where the Lady Vols stand. Except for RPI, all stats are current as of the games played this past weekend.
RANKINGS
• RPI: As of last week Tennessee was ranked 71st.
• Pablo Ranking: 78th.DIVISION I TEAM STATS
• Aces per set: 136th
• Assists per set: 126th
• Blocks per set: 46th
• Digs per set: 76th
• Hitting Percentage: 129th
• Kills per set: 133th
• W/L Record: 115thSEC TEAM STATS
• Aces per set: 6th
• Assists per set: 6th
• Blocks per set: 2nd
• Digs per set: 2nd
• Hitting Percentage: 6th
• Kills per set: 6th
• W/L Record: 5thDIVISION I INDIVIDUAL STATS
• Aces per set: 268th – Kelsey Mahoney
• Assists per set: 289th – Michaela Hanakova;
305th – Kelsey Mahoney
• Blocks per set: 41st – Alyssa Hilby
• Digs per set: 46th – Chloe Goldman
• Hitting Percentage: 340th – Farren Powe
• Kills per set: 136th – Nikki FowlerSEC INDIVIDUAL STATS
• Aces per set: 9th – Kelsey Mahoney
• Assists per set: 12th – Michaela Hanakova;
13th – Kelsey Mahoney
• Blocks per set: 2nd – Alyssa Hilby
• Digs per set: 1st – Chloe Goldman
• Hitting Percentage: 14th – Farren Powe
• Kills per set: 6th – Nikki Fowler
Tennessee has a big week ahead, playing four matches in four different cities, over the next seven days. I’ll cover Louisville (Wed. in Knoxville), South Carolina (Fri. in Columbia), and Florida (Sun. in Gainesville) today and ETSU (Tue. in Johnson City) in next week’s notes.
• Libero Chloe Goldman is just 32 digs shy of making the career top ten digs list at Tennessee.
• Since 2004, when Tennessee and Louisville started playing each other annually, the home team has won every match. The Lady Vols won in 2004 and 2006 and the Cardinals won in 2005 and 2007. 2008 should be our turn…
• In their last 10 meetings Tennessee in 8-2 vs South Carolina. In the 10 meetings previous to that Tennessee was 1-9.
• The last time Tennessee played the Gamecocks they had a huge night statistically. Nikki Fowler had 28 kills, Chloe Goldman had 31 digs, Leah Hinkey had 14 blocks, Jena Berg had 62 assists, Farren Powe had 14 kills, and Kylie Marshall has 24 digs. Overall the team had 39 block assists.
• Florida has won or shared the SEC championship every year since 1991. Tennessee is 3-33 vs the Gators in that time. Two of the wins came in 2004 when Tennessee became the only other team in the conference since 1991 to get a share of the championship. The other win came in 2005 when the Lady Vols went to the Final Four for the first time in their history. It seems a win against Florida usually means great things!
• Once again two of my favorite teams face each other. I’ve only ever been in attendance at three games where my teams have played against each other — two football games and one volleyball match. It’s never fun rooting against a favorite team. But of my five teams I do have a pecking order so I know which team to go for on the rare occasions they play each other! Twice the team I liked the most lost (Louisville defeated East Carolina in football in 2004; Louisville beat Tennessee in volleyball last year). The one time the team I wanted to win actually won I was wearing something to support both teams (Tennessee beat Air Force in football in 2006). So if I get superstitious and you see me at the match Wednesday night wearing Orange and Red don’t give me any grief about it — I’m trying to help the team!
• Louisville (6-8, 2-2 Big East)
Tennessee leads the all time series 10-7.
Tennessee lost the match last season 3-1.
Game time is Wed, October 8th at 7:00pm ET
Follow the match with Gametracker or with live video• South Carolina (13-2, 5-1)
Tennessee leads the all time series 26-24.
Tennessee split the matches last season losing 3-1 and winning 3-2.
Game time is Fri, October 10th at 7:00pm ET in Columbia SC
Follow the match with Gametracker• #9 Florida (12-1, 6-0)
Florida leads the all time series 9-37-1.
Tennessee lost both matches last season 3-0.
Game time is Sun, October 12th at 1:30pm ET in Gainesville FL
Follow the match with Gametracker, live audio, or on Sun Sports (DISH channel 422 or DirecTV channel 653)UPDATE: Match notes from Tennessee are now online for the Louisville match.
Tennessee split a pair of matches this weekend, falling to Kentucky in 4 but defeating Auburn in 3. Nikki Fowler got her 16th career double-double. Four (non-first year) players on the Lady Vols roster matched or exceeded career highs.
• Tennessee is 23-39 all time vs Kentucky
• Tennessee is 22-12-1 all time vs Auburn• With his 230th victory Coach Rob Patrick tied Bob Bertucci as the winningest coach ever at Tennessee.
• The Auburn match, with 676 people, was the 12th largest home match in UT volleyball history.
• I mentioned at the beginning of the season how much more aggressively the team was serving this year. How’s that paying off so far compared to last season?
# of players with at least: . . 2007 . . 2008 — one ace in 45% of their matches: 2 5 — 0.10 service aces per game: 3 8 — 0.20 service aces per game: 2 6 • Career bests matched or exceeded this weekend
Carol Cheade: digs and blocks
Milan Clarke: blocks
Chloe Goldman: aces and points
Farren Powe: kills and hitting percentage
Coach Rob Patrick gets win #230 tonight making him the winningest coach in UT volleyball history. The Lady Vols defeat Auburn 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 28-26). Farren Powe led the team with a career high 15 kills. Much more later.
UPDATE: Tennessee and Auburn have the story and stats. For those that took part in the Dig For the Cure fundraiser, the Lady Vols had 43 digs.
As any fan knows, there are no sure things in sports. So I am not implying anything of the sort. However, tonight there is a good chance we could see a little Tennessee volleyball history. Coach Rob Patrick will try to get his 230th win for the Lady Vols against a struggling Auburn tonight. That would make him the winningest volleyball coach UT has ever had. So be sure to come out and support the team tonight and — hopefully! — congratulate the coach! Tickets are just $3. The match will start at 7pm at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game might be broadcast on the internet so check out the official site for that info.
Also tonight: Coach Patrick will give a “Chalk Talk” 45 minutes before the match, and the Lady Vols are raising money in a “Dig for the Cure” fundraiser. So be sure to participate in those as well!
Kentucky makes it eleven in a row with a 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 25-19) win over the Lady Vols. More coming…
UPDATE: Tennessee and Kentucky have the story and stats. Nikki Fowler had a double-double with 19 kills and 17 digs. Mindy Flynn had 14 kills. Chloe Goldman had 18 digs while Kylie Marshall added 11 more. Kelsey Mahoney had a team season high 32 assists.
Looks like technical difficulties may scrub tonights live match broadcast. If so the Auburn match will be broadcast on Friday.
Here’s some news I know a lot of people have been waiting for — Tennessee is finally starting their internet video broadcast of matches! This week’s match notes say that all remaining home matches except for Auburn this Friday, Mississippi on October 17th, and South Carolina on November 16th will be available. The South Carolina match will be available on FOX RSNs. And you might want to check on Auburn this week. The text of the article doesn’t mention Auburn but in a section marked “This Week’s Opponents” it does say video will be available for that match.
Also starting today is something called Chalk Talks. The match notes say that Coach Patrick will lead them 45 minutes prior to each home match (though the Boost-Her Club newsletter says it will only be home matches during October) and fans are encouraged to attend. They’ll take place in the Courtside Club in the Ray Mears Room at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee will take on Kentucky this Wednesday and Auburn on Friday, both at home. There is no game scheduled this Sunday.
• Coach Rob Patrick tied Bob Bertucci as the winningest coach in Tennessee history this past weekend. With three upcoming home games in a row odds are good that he’ll take over the top spot home at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Libero Chloe Goldman is just 63 digs shy of making the career top ten digs list at Tennessee.
• The Tennessee/Kentucky match-up is the longest running continuously played rivalry in Tennessee’s history — the teams have played each other at least once every year since 1978. It’s also the most played rivalry for Tennessee with the teams facing each other 61 times over the years.
• Kentucky has won their last 10 matches in a row this season. They’ve only dropped 4 sets in those matches.
• The last time Tennessee played Kentucky at home the match had a one hour rain delay! Due to a leaky roof at Stokely the teams eventually moved to a dry part of the court, taped down new lines, and moved the net before play continued.
• Kentucky coach Craig Skinner on Tennessee: “They are 3-1 and we are 4-0 in conference play, so it will be a good border battle… Tennessee struggled early and had a major injury, but the last few matches they have been really good. They run an unusual offense and the match will be tough, especially because it is on the road. I’m sure they will be fired up for us, and we will be playing in Thompson-Boling Arena, a big atmosphere.”
• Tennessee has won 13 of the last 14 match-ups against Auburn, the lone loss being the last time the teams faced each other last season.
• 7 of the last 8 Tennessee/Auburn matches have ended 3-1.
• Auburn has utilized 11 different starting line-ups in their 15 matches this season.
• Kentucky (13-2, 4-0)
website
Kentucky leads the all time series 23-38.
Tennessee lost both matches last season 3-1.
Game time is Wednesday, October 1st at 7:00pm ET
Follow the match with Gametracker• Auburn (5-10, 0-4)
website
Tennessee leads the all time series 21-12-1.
The teams split their two matches last season with each winning once 3-1.
Game time is Friday, October 3rd at 7:00pm ET
Follow the match with GametrackerUPDATE: Match notes are now available for Tennessee and Kentucky.
UPDATE: Auburn‘s match notes are available.
Tennessee Volleyball is raising money for breast cancer research with a fundraiser this Friday called Dig for the Cure. Fans can pledge to give an amount of money for every dig Tennessee gets up during the match against Auburn, or they can choose to make a flat donation. The pledge form is available online, and it is asked that you submit yours by this Wednesday.
This season Tennessee is averaging 59 digs per match, or about 15 per set. Last season Tennessee notched 70 digs in a 3-1 win vs Auburn, then got 67 in a 3-1 loss a month later.
Tennessee split a pair of matches this weekend, falling to LSU in 4 but defeating Georgia in 3. Nikki Fowler got her 15th career double-double. Four (non-first year) players on the Lady Vols roster matched or exceeded career highs — three of which came serving.
• Tennessee is 16-29 all time vs LSU
• Tennessee is 35-23 all time vs Georgia• With his 229th victory Coach Rob Patrick tied Bob Bertucci as the winningest coach in Tennessee history.
• Nikki Fowler scored her third career double-double in a three-set match. This is the first that comes in a win.
• The 9 aces vs Georgia was the highest single match team total since August 31, 2007, when Tennessee served up 16 aces in a 3-0 win vs Appalachian State. The all time team record is 21 back in the first round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament when UT defeated #18 Northwestern 3-2.
• Career bests matched or exceeded this weekend:
Mindy Flynn: digs
Nikki Fowler: aces
Chloe Goldman: aces
Farren Powe: aces
After giving it some thought I have decided to continue the site. In the middle of last week I got curious about how close Chloe Goldman was getting to making the Tennessee top ten career digs list so I went ahead and compiled the stats that I had skipped out on doing earlier. It made me realize I was probably going to do that kind of thing with or without the blog so I might as well share it on a website so it makes me seem like a little bit less of a volleyball geek for doing it for no reason! Even with the ban on photos I still enjoy what I’m doing and I still love Tennessee volleyball. And that is all that matters. Thanks for all the support this past week!
(BTW – In a few emails and forum posts some people mentioned the small audience of the website — a reference to the “22 hits a day” quote I made below. I should mention that’s the daily average for the entire year, which includes the months of January-July when the site gets hardly any hits at all as it is not updated often. During the season the average hovers between 50-100 a day. I don’t care how few people visit, but in the interests of full disclosure I thought I should mention that. I don’t want anyone to think I was low-balling the hit count to get sympathy!)
The Lady Vols take down the Bulldogs 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-19). Coach Patrick ties the record for all-time wins in Tennesssee volleyball history. Much more (but no pics) when I get back to Knoxville.
Yes, the site is still going! More on that later, too!
UPDATE: Tennessee has the story, but you’ll want to check out the Georgia site for the stats —
UT has the wrong box score listed on their site.text version fixed, PDF still wrong