Once again the Lady Vols took Mississippi to five games and again the Rebels won 3-2 (30-20, 27-30, 31-29, 27-30, 15-9). Despite the loss the team had some outstanding individual achievements, making the match even more heartbreaking.

• Libero Chloe Goldman, once again, had a stellar match. This time she notched 40 digs, a personal best, and broke her own record with the second best single match dig total in Tennessee history. She fell just two digs short of tying the all time record.

• Nikki Fowler earned the team’s first triple-double of the year the school’s first triple-double in history, coming very close to an incredible quadruple-double. The freshman had 19 kills, and career highs in five categories: 54 attacks, 19 assists, 18 digs, and 8 block assists and total blocks.

• Kylie Marshall matched her personal best with 26 digs and 5 total blocks and beat her previous best with 2 block solos.

• Jaye Loyd had a career night with 36 assists.

• Farren Powe had career highs with 11 block assists and 12 total blocks.

• Milan Clarke tied her career bests with 6 block assists and total blocks.

• Yuliya Stoyanova had 54 attacks.

• Leah Hinkey hit .353, the team high for the match.

• As a team the Lady Vols had 37 total block assists – just one shy of the school’s all time single match record.

Congratulations to the team. Yes, it was a loss but if you have to take a loss at least go down fighting hard to the end as each of you obviously did.

The official box score and story will be linked to when they are available.

UPDATES: Stats are now available.

The stories from Tennessee and Mississippi are online now too.

I don’t normally do this but I’m going to quote Coach Rob Patrick in full from the Tennessee press release: “All a coach can ever ask for is for their team to leave everything out on the court and I felt that we did that today. We are counting on two players to set our offense that we never really planned on putting in that situation. I’m very proud of the way Jaye (Loyd) and Nikki ran our offense this evening.

“Nikki has been shouldering a larger and larger amount of responsibility for us as the season has gone on. She had an absolutely amazing match tonight. She did a terrific job of playing a position she has never played before (setter) and allowed our hitters to take some great swings.

“This is a testament to her incredible volleyball ability. You would never guess that she is a freshman based on how well she played all over the court. I am excited to have her for three more years, as we will be able to do some really fun things with her as she progresses through her career at Tennessee.

“Once again, Chloe did a wonderful job defensively, giving us chances to score with her stellar play. I was also happy to see Farren (Powe) come on after a slow start and raise the level of her game as the match went on.“

The Lady Vols are in Oxford, Mississippi tonight to take on the Rebels. You can follow the score and stats of the match here (scroll way down to the end of the page). Game time is 8pm ET.

The Lady Vols hit the road for one last two match road trip – after this weekend only one more away game remains on the schedule. On this trip they will face SEC West powerhouses with .750 winning percentages this season – Mississippi and LSU. The Lady Vols are looking to win two games in a row for the first time since mid-September, and while the competition will be tough the team has proven earlier this season they can play with both these opponents. While we’re still waiting for LSU to post something, Tennessee and Mississippi have posted match notes on their websites. UPDATE: LSU notes are online.

• Mississippi (20-6, 9-5): website | match notes
In their last match this season Missisippi won 3-2 (30-19, 25-30, 30-25, 24-30, 15-5).
Game time is Friday, November 2nd at 8pm EDT.

• LSU (18-6, 9-5): website | match notes (PDF)
In their last match this season Tennessee won 3-2 (30-28, 24-30, 30-24, 29-31, 16-14).
Game time is Sunday, November 4th at 2:30pm EST.

• Tennessee match notes (PDF)

I have no special inside insights on the Lady Vols’ personal interactions. In fact I’ve never met a single member of the team. My knowledge of the team dynamics is from the perspective of any average fan in the stands – well, an average fan who also runs a website about them and pours over their stats every week! My point is that while I have no personal knowledge of it, from where I sit this fact seems obvious – the Tennessee volleyball team really likes and respects their sophomore middle blocker Leah Hinkey. While I’m sure all the players like one another, it is Hinkey alone who gets her own special cheer from the bench whenever she has a particularly good block or kill. And in just about every article in the press this year where a player quote is needed it is usually Hinkey who speaks up for the team. So it should be no surprise that she has taken on a leadership role this season – until you remember she is only in her second year. Coach Rob Patrick has said, “She was somebody I didn’t think was going to be a great leader for us right now… only because she’s young. But this year she really took a huge step up in terms of being a leader and that was something I thought was fantastic”.

On a team where 9 out of the 14 players are underclassmen, having a sophomore being looked up to as a leader shouldn’t be too surprising – especially when that sophomore also happens to be one of the best players on the team. In her first season, Hinkey was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. This season she has already racked up four awards, including SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Lady Vol Athlete of the Week. While she is second on the team in kills she has gotten there taking fewer swings and, more importantly, making fewer errors giving her a team high hitting percentage of .286 so far this season. But blocking is where she really makes her mark. With 1.29 blocks per game not only is she far and away the team’s best blocker, she ranks 75th among all NCAA Division I players. She may also make her way into the record book. With seven games left she is already 6th all time for Tennessee in single season blocks per game.

Hinkey instills a confidence you can feel even out in the audience when she steps onto the court. It really is not a surprise that the team looks to this great player and great teammate for leadership. Congratulations to Leah on the season so far and keep up the good work!

The NCAA website is continuing their weekly listing of national Divsion 1 statistical rankings. Only the top 500 individuals and top 325 teams are tracked in each category. Stats are for games played through October 28th. See where Tennessee ranks here:

[ click to continue article… ]

Earlier this season I noticed that Tennessee’s libero, sophomore Chloe Goldman, has this routine of touching the side line with her foot after most points that the team loses. I was extremely curious about it because (1) I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it anywhere else, and (2) I’m nosy! For a while I tried to figure out why she was doing it. I didn’t know if it was some volleyball thing that I’d just never heard of or if it was a personal habit. But either way it is hardly worth noticing anymore. Much more worthy of note is the fact that Goldman is putting up some huge numbers this season – so whatever she is doing is obviously working for her!

Just this weekend she had 31 digs in the win against Georgia – a school record for a three game match. Her total for the weekend was 47 digs (6.71 digs per game). Was she robbed of the SEC Defensive Player of the Week award? Probably! But she is definitely making a mark on the Tennessee record books. Prior to this season, there had only been 35 times in Lady Vol history that a player had notched 25 or more digs in a match. Goldman has done it eight times so far in 2007! She is only the fifth Lady Vol to get over 30 digs in a match. She stands at second all time with 37 digs in a single match. With seven matches to go she is already second all time in total single season digs (449 digs, 57 short of the record) and first all time in digs per game (5.28 digs per game – the current record is 4.69).

Congratulations to Chloe on the great season so far and keep up the good work!

Tennessee splits a pair of matches this past weekend, defeating Georgia but falling to Auburn. Three players on the Lady Vols roster earned double-doubles; six matched or exceeded career highs.

• Tennessee is 34-23 vs Georgia (1-1 this season).
• Tennessee is 21-12-1 vs Auburn (1-1 this season).

• Tennessee swept Georgia 3-0 on October 26th. Their most recent sweep before that was against Belmont on September 1st. The 54 days between those 3-0 wins was the longest Tennessee has ever gone in one season without a sweep of a team.

• With her weekend’s performance, Yuliya Stoyanova has moved into a tie for 10th all-time on the Tennessee career kills list with 1,274.

• There have been 28 double-doubles recorded this season so far by six different players.

Career bests matched or exceeded this weekend:
• Jena Berg: kills
• Chloe Goldman: assists
• Jaye Loyd: aces
• Kylie Marshall: block solos
• Farren Powe: block solos
• Yuliya Stoyanova: aces

Double-doubles this weekend:
• Yuliya Stoyanova: kills and digs vs Georgia
• Jena Berg: assists and digs vs Georgia
• Leah Hinkey: kills and blocks vs Auburn

The Lady Vols lost this afternoon to Auburn 3-1 (22-30, 30-25, 30-24, 31-29). I’ll post the story, stats, and hopefully some pictures soon.

UPDATES: Story and stats from Tennessee. Leah Hinkey notched a double-double with kills and blocks.

Here are a few pics from the match. BTW – I promise to get a better camera if the team is still playing at Stokely next season!

The Lady Vols are at home at Stokely Athletics Center this afternoon at 1:30pm to take on Auburn. The team hopes to capitalize on Friday’s win and make it two in a row, so come out to the match and give them some support! Tickets are just $5 for adults, $3 for children, and UT students are free with their student ID.

I don’t know if the match is being broadcast on the web, so be sure to check the official Lady Vols page for that, or just follow the score and stats.

Todays match is “Trick-or-Treat Party” and “Second Harvest Food Drive”. I emailed UT to get info about the promotions but they have not gotten back to me. I don’t know what “Trick-or-Treat Party” is (maybe you can dress up?), but last time they had “Second Harvest Food Drive” you could get into the match free with two nonperishable food items. Bring ticket money just in case I’m mistaken though!

Tennessee has announced the class of 2007 inductees for the Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame. Among the honorees this year is Dianne Shoemaker DeNecochea, who played for the volleyball team from 1985-1988. She still holds two Tennessee records – kills per game in a season (5.69 in 1988) and attacks per game in a season (11.95 in 1988). She was named to the All-SEC team twice and won many academic honors as well. Eighteen years after graduating from Tennessee DeNecochea still plays volleyball professionally, currently competing on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour where she finished 5th in 2007. In six of the past seven years she has finished ranked in the top eleven. DeNecochea will join former volleyball players Beverly Robinson, April Chapple, Robin Maine, and Bonnie Kenny in the Lady Vol Hall Of Fame.

Tennessee broke their four game losing streak tonight by defeating Georgia 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-27). Story, stats, and more when they are available.

UPDATE: Details from Tennessee and Georgia.

Chloe Goldman had 31 digs – a school record for a three game match. Yuliya Stoyanova and Jena Berg had double-doubles. Berg hit .400 while Leah Hinkey hit .312. The win was Tennessee’s first 3-0 sweep since September 1st.

Coach Patrick: “If you look at our season up to this point, Chloe is probably is our MVP. Part of the reason she was able to be so successful tonight, was that our block did a fantastic job of channeling the ball to her. Chloe also did a terrific job of controlling her digs better than she has in the past.“

The Lady Vols head home to Stokely Athletics Center tonight at 7pm to take on Georgia. The team has been on the road a lot in the last month, and while they have had some disappointing matches, they have played almost every team close. I’m sure they are going to appreciate being back on friendlier turf at home in Knoxville – so why not come out tonight (and Sunday) and give them some support! Tickets are just $5 for adults, $3 for children, and UT students are free with their student ID.

If you can’t make it to the match you can watch online for free (no link yet, just check the official Lady Vols page later), or just follow the score and stats.

By the way, Tennessee does have promotions for these home matches. Unfortunately, the new page that lists them only gives the promotion’s name, not the description of the promotion like the old page did. So tonight’s match is “Rock the House Night” and “Camp Reunion Night”. No idea what the former is, but I assume the latter is for girls who attended one of the Lady Vols’ summer camp programs. Whether that means they get a discount on tickets or not I have no idea! Sunday’s match is “Trick-or-Treat Party” and “Second Harvest Food Drive”. Again, unsure about the former, but last time they had the latter you could get into the match free with two nonperishable food items. I’ll email the marketing department and see if I can some information on these promotions.

The University of Tennessee student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, takes a look at the matches this weekend, examines some revealing stats, and talks to Leah Hinkey and Coach Rob Patrick.

Coach Patrick: “Our inexperience is one of our biggest obstacles. We often have six people who are all on the court for the first time…. There are some very encouraging signs. This is a great experience for our kids, and they are doing lots of good things. The worst part is that we are not winning.“

After winning only one match out of their last ten, Tennessee hopes to reverse their fortunes this weekend against Georgia and Auburn. Part of the problem for the Lady Vols may have been their relentless travel schedule. During that ten match stretch the team played seven of the matches on the road. Luckily that won’t be an issue for the rest of the season as six of the last nine matches, including both this weekend, will played at Stokely Athletics Center.

Georgia, Auburn, and Tennessee have posted match notes on their websites, which include rosters, team information, statistics, and other interesting facts.

• Georgia (14-8, 5-7): website | match notes (PDF)
In their last match this season Georgia won 3-2 (25-30, 30-23, 28-30, 30-26, 15-12). Game time is Friday, October 26th at 7pm ET.

• Auburn (10-13, 2-10): website | match notes (PDF)
In their last match this season Tennessee won 3-1 (27-30, 30-28, 30-25, 30-27). Game time is Sunday, October 28th at 1:30pm ET.

• Tennessee match notes (PDF)

Using the stats from the NCAA website, here is a listing of individual and team Southeastern Conference statistical rankings. Stats are for games played through October 21st.

Aces per game
• 16th – Kylie Marshall (0.35 aces per game)
• 21st – Nikki Fowler (0.32 aces per game)
• Tennessee is ranked 11th in the conference as a team with 1.17 aces per game.

Assists per game
• 7th – Jena Berg (10.51 assists per game)
• 16th – Jaye Loyd (1.17 assists per game)
• 21st – Nikki Fowler (0.73 assists per game)
• Tennessee is ranked 11th in the conference as a team with 12.72 assists per game.

Blocks per game
• 7th – Leah Hinkey (1.19 blocks per game)
• 20th – Nikki Fowler (0.87 blocks per game)
• Tennessee is ranked 5th in the conference as a team with 2.69 blocks per game.

Digs per game
• 3rd – Chloe Goldman (5.15 digs per game)
• 18th – Jena Berg (3.09 digs per game)
• Tennessee is ranked 3rd in the conference as a team with 17.63 digs per game.

Hitting percentage
• 12th – Leah Hinkey (.282 hitting percentage)
• Tennessee is ranked 11th in the conference as a team with a .177 hitting percentage.

Kills per game
• Tennessee is ranked 11th in the conference as a team with 13.74 kills per game.