No match for the Vols today. But if you need a Tennessee volleyball fix, here’s something you might enjoy. I’ve gone through and collected all the media guide cover images I have starting with coach Rob Patrick’s first season. As you’ll see, a lot of them have a theme (some of which work better than others!) with that year’s metaphor carried over into a corresponding article previewing the season. Sometimes clever, sometimes corny — I’ve included the beginning of each piece as well. Note that a few years ago UT started posting a record book, usually without a cover or preview piece, rather than a media guide. I don’t have all the covers so if you have one I’m missing feel free to let me know.
UPDATE 1: Big thanks to the UT fan that sent in two guide covers I was missing!
UPDATE 2: I’ll continue to update this article with new covers as they become available.
1997: Blueprint for the Future
The young group of skilled laborers otherwise known as the Tennessee Lady Volunteer volleyball team constructed one of the nation’s biggest turnarounds in 1996. Now, with a new coach and a winning attitude, the Lady Vols are looking to take the next step as they design a “Blueprint for the Future”. An innovative new architect with a portfolio of success arrives in the form of head coach Rob Patrick, who had previously been a key business associate with a major national volleyball powerhouse. Patrick will be trying his hand at a new site, as he attempts to figure out the proper dimensions necessary to produce an eye-opening and durable structure. He will inherit a Lady Vol team which adds a pair of newcomers and returns 11 letterwinners from last year’s edition. Tennessee’s solid field work resulted in a 17-16 record which marked a 10-match improvement from the previous campaign…
[ click to continue article… ]
The Vols have only one match this weekend, taking on South Carolina at home this Sunday.
- Tennessee is 36-27 all-time vs South Carolina. The team is 8-2 in their last ten matches.The Gamecocks have won two of the last three in the series — both in Knoxville. The last time South Carolina won two in a row over UT was 2006-2007.
- This series is the longest-running in South Carolina history, and the third longest for Tennessee. The teams first met in 1974.
- South Carolina got their first conference win of the year Wednesday night vs Georgia, snapping a seven-match losing streak.
- The three-match home stand ending this Sunday has been the longest the team has been at home this year since the beginning of September — and the last time they’ll be home for three straight matches this season.
- Like all the coaches mentioned in last week’s notes, this week’s opponent has a head coach with Final Four experience: SC’s Scott Swanson was an assistant at Minnesota when they made the national semifinals in 2009, where they lost to Texas.
- Also like last week, the Gamecock’s have a new assistant coach who played in every match between Tennessee and her alma mater. Shonda Cole was with South Carolina from 2003-2006. Despite only going 1-7 vs the Vols, her career numbers vs UT are impressive — in rally scoring era matches she stands at #2 in points, #3 in kills, #4 in attacks, and #5 in aces.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS Sunday, October 18th
1:30pm ET // Knoxville TN2015 Record: 7-12 (1-6 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO (SECN+) // STATS
LAST TEN MATCHES VERSUS
TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS ACES
PER SETASSISTS
PER SETBLOCKS
PER SETDIGS
PER SETKILLS
PER SETHIT
PERCENTOPP HIT
PERCENT
SEC241st
NCAA1.09
SEC118th
NCAA12.09
SEC80th
NCAA2.31
SEC49th
NCAA16.05
SEC123rd
NCAA12.95
SEC78th
NCAA.239
SEC17th
NCAA.148
SEC216th
NCAA1.14
SEC134th
NCAA11.97
SEC172nd
NCAA2.00
SEC184th
NCAA14.47
SEC138th
NCAA12.80
SEC160th
NCAA.208
SEC186th
NCAA.206
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS ACES
PER SET
135th NCAA0.34ASSISTS
PER SET
53rd NCAA10.56
77th NCAA10.17BLOCKS
PER SET
99th NCAA1.14DIGS
PER SET
77th NCAA4.54KILLS
PER SET
150th NCAA3.40POINTS
PER SETHITTING
PERCENTAGE
87th NCAA.354
higher ranked lower ranked
The Vols were in the match but couldn’t close the tight sets in their 3-0 loss to #17 Florida. Kanisha Jimenez had nine kills. Raina Hembry had six, and four blocks. Lexi Dempsey put up 22 of the team’s 23 assists, and put back three blocks. Bridgette Villano had seven digs, and Megan Hatcher added six. Florida hit .347, the most by a UT opponent this season. Tennessee’s 29 kills were their fewest in a match this year, while their 27 digs were the third fewest in a match during the rally scoring era. The Vols held Florida to just a single ace, their lowest total in a match in 2015.
- For the eighth year in a row, Tennessee is hosting a Dig for the Cure event to raise money for and awareness of the fight against breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show their support — those doing so will gain free admission to the match.
- Tennessee and Florida have posted their notes for this match online. Be sure to check those out if you like digging into the numbers. Here’s a big one I completely missed from UT: “Tennessee is undefeated at home this season at Thompson-Boling Arena (7-0).”
- UF stayed at #17 in this week’s coaches poll, making this their lowest ranking when facing Tennessee since 1990 (the last time they weren’t in the poll during a UT match).
- The local newspaper has a piece yesterday featuring Kendra Turner talking about her injury and return to the lineup: “It was very tough on me because I knew the kind of impact player I am. It was very tough not to be on the court with my team.”
- The match tonight will air on ESPNU (and the WatchESPN website or app on your computer or mobile device). After just defeating their first ranked opponent since beating Florida on November 4, 2012, the Vols will look to get their first win in a televised match since that date as well. The Florida call will also be broadcast on ESPN Gainesville radio, which you can listen to via their website or the Tunein app on your phone.
- While the Gators hold an impressive all-time 13-45-1 lead, seven of the the Vols’ wins have come in the past 11 years. Tennessee has won at least one match against Florida in five of the last 11 years. In fact, UT has almost double the wins vs Florida in that time than the next closest SEC team: Tennessee has won seven, Kentucky just earned their fourth this season.
- The cause is obviously the most important aspect, but just for fun here are some statistics on the previous Dig for the Cure matches. For the first four years Tennessee always played a team from the state of Alabama. The Vols never lost a set until the fifth year. UT is 5-2 while holding the event. And over the past seven years the team and fans have raised around $10,000.
UT DIG FOR THE CURE MATCHES 2008 Auburn W 3-0 $1,000+ 2009 Auburn W 3-0 $1,000+ 2010 Auburn W 3-0 $1,300+ 2011 Alabama W 3-0 $2,650 2012 Missouri W 3-2 $1,600+ 2013 Arkansas L 1-3 $1,800+ 2014 Kentucky L 0-3 not announced
Tennessee earned a 3-1 win over the #22 Arkansas Razorbacks this afternoon, their first victory over a ranked team since November 2012. The win also guaranteed the team will have their first winning regular season since 2012. More soon.
UPDATE: Kendra Turner led the team with 15 kills while hitting .344. Raina Hembry had 12 kills and hit .476. Kanisha Jimenez also had 12 kills, and added seven digs and four blocks. Bri Holmes knocked down 11 kills while Erica Treiber had seven kills and five blocks. Lexi Dempsey pecked up season double-double number nine with 47 assists and 12 digs. Bridgette Villano gig up 14 balls.
Arkansas’ Pilar Victoria had 26 kills, the fifth most by a UT opponent in a four set match since 2001. The win breaks UT’s eight match losing streak to ranked teams.
Tennessee takes on two ranked opponents this week: #22 Arkansas and (currently) #17 Florida.
- Tennessee is 17-18 all-time vs Arkansas. The team is 6-4 in their last ten matches.The Razorbacks currently hold a three match winning streak in the series. The last time Arkansas won four in a row over UT was 2002-2003.
- Tennessee is 13-45-1 all-time vs Florida. The team is 4-6 in their last ten matches.The Gators currently hold a three match winning streak in the series. The last time Florida won four in a row over UT was 2007-2009.
- The Vols are a respectable 26-48 (.351) against ranked opponents since 2001, and 14-33 (.298) when they themselves are unranked.
- Tennessee hasn’t faced a ranked Razorbacks team since 1999. The Vols are 0-5 all-time vs an Arkansas in the polls.
- The first time UT faced a ranked Florida team was 1991 — and the Gators have amazingly been ranked in every Tennessee game since then! Unless they move up at least three spots in the next poll, this will be their lowest ranking when playing the Vols.
- Florida has already lost three SEC matches this season. Under head coach Mary Wise they have only lost four conference games in a single season once — 2009.
- The Arkansas roster features six players from outside the 50 United States: three from Puerto Rico, and one each from Croatia, Mexico, and France.
- Arkansas’ blocking leader, Chanell Clark-Bibbs, played against Tennessee two years ago with Georgia Tech.
- New Arkansas assistant coach Sarah Rumley played in every match between Tennessee and her alma mater Kentucky from 2006 to 2009. In rally scoring era matches, she has the most career aces and the third most career assists vs the Vols.
- All three coaches this week have Final Four and National Championship match experience.
- Arkansas’ Robert Pulliza was an assistant coach with Wisconsin when they defeated USC in the national semi-finals before falling to Nebraska in the championship game in 2000.
- Florida head coach Mary Wise has played in seven national semi-finals, the first in 1992. In 2003, her team defeated USC in the the Final Four match before losing to Stanford for the championship.
- Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick was an assistant coach at Stanford when they won the National Championship in 1994 and 1996, defeating UCLA and Hawaii in those matches. The 1995 team made the national semi-finals but lost to Texas. In 2005, Patrick led Tennessee to their first Final Four, losing to eventual champion Washington.
#22 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS Sunday, October 11th
1:30pm ET // Knoxville TN2015 Record: 13-3 (3-1 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO (SECN+) // STATS#17 FLORIDA GATORS Wednesday, October 14th
6:00pm ET // Knoxville TN2015 Record: 10-4 (2-3 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO (ESPNU) // STATS
LAST TEN MATCHES VERSUS
TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS ACES
PER SETASSISTS
PER SETBLOCKS
PER SETDIGS
PER SETKILLS
PER SETHIT
PERCENTOPP HIT
PERCENT
SEC235th
NCAA1.10
SEC131st
NCAA12.00
SEC78th
NCAA2.34
SEC40th
NCAA16.21
SEC132nd
NCAA12.85
SEC86th
NCAA.236
SEC9th
NCAA.141
SEC251st
NCAA1.07
SEC49th
NCAA12.85
SEC92nd
NCAA2.26
SEC255th
NCAA13.45
SEC77th
NCAA13.43
SEC30th
NCAA.259
SEC93rd
NCAA.181
SEC200th
NCAA1.18
SEC59th
NCAA12.74
SEC6th
NCAA3.07
SEC215th
NCAA13.94
SEC39th
NCAA13.86
SEC7th
NCAA.296
SEC50th
NCAA.166
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS ACES
PER SETASSISTS
PER SET
56th NCAA10.49
41st NCAA10.90
29th NCAA11.07BLOCKS
PER SET
107th NCAA1.13
87th NCAA1.17
1st NCAA2.02DIGS
PER SET
71st NCAA4.60
105th NCAA4.38KILLS
PER SET
14th NCAA4.47POINTS
PER SET
17th NCAA4.99HITTING
PERCENTAGE
78th NCAA.361
52nd NCAA.385
7th NCAA.439
highest ranked middle ranked lowest ranked
The Vols lost a tight four set match in Baton Rouge 25-19, 16-25, 25-21, 26-24. Bri Holmes led both teams with a UT career high 22 kills — with just three errors on 40 swings she hit .475. Kanisha Jimenez picked up a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs; she also had three blocks. Erica Treiber had eight kills, hit.462, and put back four blocks. Kelsey Bawcombe had six kills and seven digs. Lexi Dempsey had a career high 53 assists. Bridgette Villano dug up 23 balls, while Megan Hatcher added nine more.
The team out hit the Tigers and had more kills, assists, and digs. UT’s .266 hitting percentage was their third highest in a loss during the rally scoring era.
If you missed the broadcast, be sure to check out this ESPN video feature with Tennessee senior Megan Hatcher showing off some of downtown Knoxville:
- Congratulations to Erica Treiber on earning her second SEC Freshman of the Week award.
“Treiber posted a .389 hitting percentage and averaged 2.25 kills, 1.63 blocks and 3.31 points per set against Alabama and Missouri this past weekend. She led Tennessee in blocks in both matches, leading the team in that category nine times this season and is the per set leader (1.14). Treiber was second on the team in kills vs. Alabama and was tied for the team lead against Missouri. Starting all 19 matches of her freshman season, her season hitting percentage of .357 ranks eighth in the SEC.”
Treiber is the first Vol to earn a weekly conference honor twice in a season since 2013, and the first freshman since 2011 to do so.
- Tennessee will play the first of six televised matches planned for this season on Wednesday night. The Vols take on LSU in Baton Rouge on ESPNU at 9pm ET. Since 2011, UT is 24-32 when playing on TV, and 2-3 when the opponent is LSU — though they have won the last two in a row vs the Tigers.
- UT is 15-13 on Wednesday nights since 2001.
- The Knoxville News Sentinel recently profiled libero Bridgette Villano. Head coach Rob Patrick: “She took her game to another level and then it took our game to another level”. Villano: “Whatever you want, you have to work hard for it; it’s not given to you. That’s just kind of how I grew up. That’s the atmosphere here and the culture that Rob has set.”
- Speaking of Villano, after her recent 28 dig performance at Auburn, I added a new section to the stats pages. Check out the all-time match high page for an up-to-date listing of the best individual efforts in kills and digs in UT program history.
Tennessee lost to Missouri in Columbia this afternoon 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 25-17). Erica Treiber, Raina Hembry, and Kanisha Jimenez had nine kills each, while Bri Holmes had eight and and Kendra Turner seven. Treiber hit .471 and had five blocks. Lexi Dempsey had 33 assists. Brooke Schumacher and Bridgette Villano had nine digs each. This was just the third four-set match in the rally scoring era where the Vols didn’t record an ace. The Tigers’ .280 hitting percentage and 77 points were the most allowed by UT this season. MU’s Alyssa Munlyn hit .714, the 12th highest average by a Tennessee opponent since 2001.
In front of a huge crowd, Tennessee gave the fans what they wanted with a four set win over Alabama (25-23, 25-16, 16-25, 28-26). More soon.
UPDATE: Kanisha Jimenez controlled the match with 18 kills, 14 digs, and four blocks. Erica Treiber put back eight blocks, while hitting .316 with nine kills. Kendra Turner, making her season debut at home, had eight kills and hit .222. Lexi Dempsey was impressive with 39 assists, eight digs, three blocks, and three kills (including the match winner). Bridgette Villano dug up 15 balls while Megan Hatcher added 11 of her own. The Vols won despite being outhit by the Tide — just the 20th time that’s happened in the rally scoring era. Their .161 average was the 13th lowest in a win during that timeframe.
Late in the fourth set with Tennessee fighting back from a deficit, the refs made a terrible call. And the third largest crowd of the past three seasons got fired up! With their team down 22-18, the Tennessee fans got rowdy and didn’t let up for the rest of the match until the Vols had secured the win. I have not missed a single Tennessee home game in nine years. So I can tell you that tonight was the loudest I’ve ever heard TBA during a volleyball match! And the team seemed to really appreciate it — coming out of the locker room after the match for a curtain call.
- Tennessee is 33-15 all-time vs Alabama. The team is 7-3 in their last ten meetings. The Crimson Tide currently hold a three match winning streak in the series. The last time Alabama won four in a row over UT was 2006-2007. Eleven of the last 15 matches with Alabama have been sweeps for one team or the other.
- Tennessee is 2-5 all-time vs Missouri. The Tigers currently hold a three match winning streak in the series.
- Tennessee is 21-36 all-time vs LSU. The team is 4-6 in their last ten meetings. The other Tigers currently hold a three match winning streak in the series. The last time Alabama won four in a row over UT was 1992-1993.
- The Vols are trying to set a home attendance record tonight. Not counting the 3,311 who attended the Georgia match in 2005 before the basketball team’s “Big Orange Madness”, the volleyball only record is 2,012. Two of UT’s top five most highly attended matches have come against Alabama.
UT VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE 10/28/2005 Georgia (W) 3,311 10/28/2011 Florida (W) 2.012 10/7/2011 Alabama (W) 1,999 8/27/2011 Maryland (W) 1,938 10/5/2014 Alabama (L) 1,780
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE Friday, October 2nd
7:00pm ET // Knoxville TN2015 Record: 7-8 (1-0 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO // STATSMISSOURI TIGERS Sunday, October 4th
2:30pm ET // Columbia MO2015 Record: 13-1 (1-0 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO // STATSLSU TIGERS Wednesday, October 7th
9:00pm ET // Baton Rouge LA2015 Record: 5-8 (1-1 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO // STATS
LAST TEN MATCHES VERSUS
TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS ACES
PER SETASSISTS
PER SETBLOCKS
PER SETDIGS
PER SETKILLS
PER SETHIT
PERCENTOPP HIT
PERCENT
SEC173rd
NCAA1.23
SEC118th
NCAA12.10
SEC65th
NCAA2.43
SEC29th
NCAA16.53
SEC132nd
NCAA12.85
SEC74th
NCAA.242
SEC5th
NCAA.123
SEC164th
NCAA1.26
SEC73rd
NCAA12.52
SEC150th
NCAA2.07
SEC221st
NCAA13.89
SEC73rd
NCAA13.54
SEC141st
NCAA.214
SEC192nd
NCAA.210
SEC117th
NCAA1.38
SEC58th
NCAA12.76
SEC52nd
NCAA2.47
SEC220th
NCAA13.89
SEC48th
NCAA13.80
SEC9th
NCAA.294
SEC181st
NCAA.206
SEC170th
NCAA1.24
SEC219th
NCAA11.12
SEC125th
NCAA2.14
SEC13th
NCAA17.02
SEC219th
NCAA11.96
SEC280th
NCAA.154
SEC126th
NCAA.190
highest ranked middle ranked lowest ranked
It’s almost impossible to believe but we’re already at the halfway point of the 2015 volleyball season! Part of the reason it’s difficult to fathom might be because they have barely played here in Knoxville. The team has had only five of their 17 matches at home — and all were played within just a single six day stretch. The local fans get to see the team in person once this weekend before they hit the road again. But after this week Tennessee will be home in eight of their last 13 matches.
Tomorrow we’ll focus on those games. Today’s notes will look at some of individual players and how their mid-season stats might look in the record books at the end of the year. This list is not definitive, so apologies if I missed someone. Of course, these numbers may change as the season goes on. And finally, some of these records have prerequisites that may need to be met before they become official.
Lexi Dempsey
- She is on track to join both UT’s top 20 all-time single season assists and assists per set lists.
- She is currently #8 on the UT all-time career assists list. She needs 542 more to move into fifth place, and 585 more to become just the fifth Vol to reach 3,000 assists.
- She needs 100 more digs to move into the UT all-time career top 25 and the rally-scoring era career top ten.
- She stands at #20 on the UT rally scoring era career aces chart.
Bridgette Villano
- At her current pace she could reach the UT all-time single season top five in digs and digs per set.
- She stands at #24 on the UT all-time career digs list. She needs 100 more to move into top 20, and 235 more to reach career dig #1000.
Kelsey Bawcombe
- Her .35 aces per set would put her at third on UT’s single season rally scoring era chart.
- At her current rate she might be able to reach the UT rally scoring era single season top ten in total aces.
- She stands at #20 on the UT rally scoring era career aces chart.
Megan Hatcher
- She stands at #20 on the UT rally scoring era career digs chart.
Kanisha Jimenez
- She is #24 on the UT rally-scoring era career total attacks list.
- She is #24 on the UT rally-scoring era career digs list.
- She is #25 on the UT rally-scoring era career blocks list.
- She needs nine more kills to move into UT rally-scoring era career top 25.
Raina Hembry
- Her 1.17 blocks per set, if it holds, would be enough to get her into the UT all-time single season top 20.
- She currently has the 20th most single season solo blocks in the rally scoring era.
- She is #22 in UT rally-scoring era career solo blocks, #13 in UT rally-scoring era career block assists, and #14 in UT rally-scoring era career total blocks. She needs 47 more to move into UT rally-scoring era career top ten.
- Five more kills would put her in the UT rally-scoring era career top 25.
- She needs 59 more attacks to move into UT rally-scoring era career top 25.
Erica Treiber
- Hitting .349 on the season so far, she is on pace to crack the UT all-time single season top 20 hitting percentage list. Her current number would put her at fifth in the rally scoring era.
- Her blocking numbers would be #5 on the UT all-time career chart.
- Her hitting percentage would stand as the #2 UT all-time career number.
Bri Holmes
- She currently stands at #15 on the UT rally-scoring era career hitting list.
Tennessee picked up their first SEC victory of the year, and their 15th overall with a 3-0 win over Georgia (25-15, 25-18, 25-21). More soon.
UPDATE: Kenisha Jimenez led the match with 11 kills. She also had six digs and seven blocks. Bri Holmes had ten kills, while hitting .429 and knocking down three blocks. Erica Treiber and Kendra Turner had seven kills each. Treiber also put back ten blocks — that’s the first time since 2012 a UT player has reached double digit blocks, and just the third time in the past five seasons. Lexi Dempsey had 31 assists and 14 digs, giving her her 30th career double-double. Bridgette Villano had 11 digs, and the libero got just the third kill of her career.
Tennessee has now won three SEC matches over the last three seasons — one each year, and all sweeps. Hopefully there will be a lot more on the way this year!
Tennessee dropped a four set match at Auburn in their conference opener (25-16, 30-32, 25-22, 25-19). Bri Holmes had 11 kills and four blocks. Kanisha Jimenez earned a double-double with ten kills and 16 digs. Erica Treiber had nine kills. Raina Hembry knocked back eight blocks and Stephanie Buss had three. Lexi Dempsey put up 36 assists and dug up 12 balls to get her seventh double-double of the season.
Bridgette Villano had 28 digs, a career best and the tenth most in a four set match in school history. Auburn won the match despite only hitting .151 — the ninth lowest percentage by a winning UT opponent in the rally-scoring era.
- Match notes from each of the schools are now online: Tennessee // Auburn // Georgia.
- Head coach Rob Patrick talked with Destination Volleyball this week about the team’s start, all the newcomers on the squad, and the upcoming SEC season.
- Patrick also held a press conference at the school, where he discussed where the team is compared to last year, the team’s confidence, how the team has responded to their first loss, and the upcoming matches this weekend. Patrick begins at the 13:30 mark.
AUBURN TIGERS Friday, September 25th
8:00pm ET // Auburn AL2015 Record: 8-4 (0-0 SEC)
WEBSITE // AUDIO // STATSGEORGIA BULLDOGS Sunday, September 27th
1:30pm ET // Athens GA2015 Record: 5-7 (0-0 SEC)
WEBSITE // VIDEO // STATS
LAST TEN MATCHES VERSUS
TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS ACES
PER SETASSISTS
PER SETBLOCKS
PER SETDIGS
PER SETKILLS
PER SETHIT
PERCENTOPP HIT
PERCENT
SEC160th
NCAA1.28
SEC99th
NCAA12.28
SEC78th
NCAA2.33
SEC34th
NCAA16.34
SEC113th
NCAA13.02
SEC47th
NCAA.257
SEC7th
NCAA.123
SEC212th
NCAA1.17
SEC53rd
NCAA12.81
SEC161st
NCAA2.00
SEC97th
NCAA15.38
SEC62nd
NCAA13.55
SEC171st
NCAA.204
SEC76th
NCAA.170
SEC112th
NCAA1.41
SEC243rd
NCAA10.73
SEC118th
NCAA2.17
SEC259th
NCAA13.22
SEC231st
NCAA11.80
SEC195th
NCAA.195
SEC203rd
NCAA.214
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS ACES
PER SET
93rd NCAA0.39
49th NCAA0.44ASSISTS
PER SET
50th NCAA10.63
59th NCAA10.49
139th NCAA9.05BLOCKS
PER SET
131st NCAA1.10
55th NCAA1.25DIGS
PER SET
70th NCAA4.63KILLS
PER SETPOINTS
PER SETHITTING
PERCENTAGE
91st NCAA.366
highest ranked middle ranked lowest ranked
