It’s hard to believe we’ve reached that point in the season already, but this Sunday is Senior Day. Due to injuries and redshirts, we only have one senior to honor this year: Kelsey Mahoney. Hopefully she can handle the attention of being the only one in the spotlight!
First up we’ll dig through the archives and other sources and take a look back at the
seniors as they weresenior as she was before ever donning the orange and white — some of her pre-UT accomplishments and what’s been said about her before she hit the checkerboard court.
Kelsey Mahoney joined the Lady Vols in 2008 as part of a class that included DeeDee Harrison and Kayla Jeter (who both redshirted a season), Alyssa Hilby (who left the program after a season ending injury and redshirt year), and junior college transfer Michaela Hanakova. PrepVolleyball.com named the class the 13th best in the country.
Coach Patrick (7/2008): I am very excited that this group of players is being recognized for the high level of talent that it possesses. Not only will they be able to make an impact on the court immediately, but they also put our program in good hands for the years to come.
I am extremely excited about the future of Tennessee volleyball and much of that enthusiasm is due to this tremendous class of student-athletes. I truly feel, however, that by the time this class graduates, it will be viewed as one of the top 10 in the country. We fully expect each member of this group to play significant roles in our success over the next few years.
From the archives (11/2007): Mahoney brings an impressive resumé to Rocky Top. She is ranked No. 38 on PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list and was named one of the top two setters in the state of Texas by LoneStarVolleyball.com. The Fort Worth, Texas, native was selected as the MVP of the Texas Advantage club team, which earned the distinction of 2006 Team of the Year from LoneStarVolleyball.com. In 2007, her TAV 17 Asics squad claimed fifth place at the Junior Olympics in Minneapolis, Minn., after a third-place performance by her TAV 16 Asics team the previous year and a placing of fifth by the TAV 15 Asics squad in 2005.
Mahoney also participated on the USA Volleyball Youth National Team in 2006, helping the squad earn the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Girls’ Youth Continental Volleyball Championship with a perfect 5-0 record. Mahoney recorded a double-double in the championship match against Dominican Republic with 19 assists and 11 digs.
Over the past four years, Mahoney has also put together a stellar high school career. A member of the first varsity team ever at Keller H.S., she was named the District 9-4A Newcomer of the Year in 2004 and first-team all-district in 2005. The following year, Mahoney guided her team to its first winning record (26-13), while earning District 5-5A Setter of the Year, LoneStarVolleyball.com All-Texas Team and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Super Team honors. In 2007, she did one better, leading Keller Central to the playoffs for the first time ever and picking up District 5-5A MVP accolades.
Mahoney’s high school coach, Christina Rudiger (8/2007): She’s a student of the game. She wants to be the very best she can be. She’s very competitive, very intense and very driven to succeed at a high level.
PrepVolleyball.com (11/2007): Mahoney’s ability to lead has been well noted. Mahoney possesses great hands, good athleticism and is extremely competitive. Her blocking on the right side is vastly improved. Most importantly, Mahoney sets the middle attack as well as any setter in the country, which will make her a perfect fit for Tennessee’s middle-friendly offense.
Coach Patrick (11/2007): I am very excited to have Kelsey come into our program. She has been a tremendous leader for her high school and club teams and that is one of the most important attributes that we look for in a setter. Her club team runs a similar offense to the system we run here at Tennessee, so she should be able to assimilate herself very quickly.
Kelsey demands a lot of respect from her teammates and I expect her to be a great leader both on and off the court for the next four years. She has the ability to lead her team through rough times during matches, by taking the team on her shoulders and making the plays both offensively and defensively needed to weather any of her team’s inconsistent play. That is the mark of a very strong-minded player.
Coach Patrick (8/2008): Kelsey is a winner. That is the one thing that has followed Kelsey everywhere throughout her career. She has a special ability to make positive things happen on the court. Even though she is just a freshman, she will bring a tremendous amount of setting experience to our team, thanks to her extensive high-level club experience in Texas. She has the ability to step in immediately and run our offense at a very high level. She is a hard-nosed competitor with tremendous leadership skills, not unlike those of former Lady Vol Julie Knytych who played on the 2005 team that reached the NCAA Final Four.
The Lady Vols are now 39-6 all time vs Mississippi and 31-12 all time vs Alabama. They have 8 match winning streaks going against both opponents.
Sunday’s victory was the 800th recorded win in program history.
UT’s .433 vs Alabama was their second best hitting percentage of the season, and their 6th best of the rally scoring era.
Mississippi’s .281 hitting percentage was the 2nd highest allowed by the Lady Vols all season.
The Lady Vols had 16 service errors vs Mississippi. Since 2001, they’ve had that many or more just 6 times — but 4 of those matches have been this year.
Mary Pollmiller’s 69 assists vs Mississippi was the highest total by a Tennessee player since Erica Lear’s 72 in September 2001. (typo fixed!)
DeeDee Harrison hit .733 vs Alabama with 12 kills on 15 swings, giving her the 6th best hitting percentage (with 10+ attacks) at UT the past decade.
Kelsey Robinson picked up 2 more double doubles this weekend giving her a career total of 23. That’s the 4th most by a Lady Vol in the past decade.
Tennessee has won 16 SEC matches this year so far. That ties the school record for most regular season conference wins set in 2009 when the team went 16-4.
Tennessee is 6-2 in five set matches this year. With 8 this season so far, UT has played the 2nd most five setters of any team in school history, and has tied the most five set matches in a season under Coach Rob Patrick. Their 6 wins matches the school record for most 5 set victories in a season.
UT MOST FIVE SET MATCHES YEAR TOTAL RECORD 1991 10 6-4 2011 8 6-2 2009 8 5-3 2008 8 5-3 2007 8 3-5 1999 7 2-5 1988 7 3-4 1985 7 3-4 1983 7 4-3 UT has won 9 matches in a row. That ties for the 3rd longest streak during Coach Patrick’s tenure. And it’s the 7th longest single season win streak in program history. Impressive as that is, 9 consecutive wins is just the second longest streak of this season! Earlier this year the Lady Vols recorded 11 wins in a row.
The team is on an 8 match winning streak vs SEC opponents. That ties the school record for consecutive single regular season conference wins. UT had 8 wins in a row in 2004, 2005, 2008, and earlier this season.
The Lady Vols have finished the road portion of their schedule with a 14-3 record. Since 2001, that ranks only behind the 2004 squad who went 15-1 in regular season road matches and 18-2 counting SEC and NCAA Tournament matches.
Based on my count, Coach Patrick has moved into 4th place on the winningest SEC coach in conference history list and is possibly a week away from 3rd.
SEC CAREER COACHING RECORDS* 1 Mary Wise Florida 1991- 653-74 2 Fran Flory Kentucky 1993-1997
LSU 1998-
Total 1993-78-80
266-154
344-2343 Sid Feldman Georgia 1978-1988 318-135 4 Rob Patrick Tennessee 1997- 316-153 Chris Poole Arkansas 1994-2007 316-161 5 Scott Luster LSU 1985-1997 308-161 * these are career wins while at an SEC school, not just conference wins MILESTONES AND RECORDS:
Tiffany Baker reached the 500 attack milestone vs Mississippi.
Leslie Cikra put down her 200th kill of the season vs Mississippi.
DeeDee Harrison hit the 500th attack of her season and the 1000th attack of her career vs Alabama. She also scored the 600th point of her career vs Mississippi.
Shealyn Kolosky reached the 200 point mark vs Alabama.
Kelsey Mahoney got her 525th career dig vs Mississippi.
Ellen Mullins moved into the top 10 in single season digs, now in a tie for the #9 spot.
Mary Pollmiller moved up to 13th place all time in single season assists. She also notched her 40th total block vs Mississippi.
Kelsey Robinson jumps into the top 10 at #7 in single season attack attempts. She also earned her 650th kill and her 700th dig vs Alabama.
DOUBLE DOUBLES:
Kelsey Robinson vs Mississippi: 24 kills, 13 digs (#18 of 2011, #23 of career)
Kelsey Robinson vs Alabama: 12 kills, 12 digs (#19 of 2011, #24 of career)
CAREER HIGHS MATCHED OR EXCEEDED:
Tiffany Baker: kills (in a 5 set match), attacks, hitting percentage (with 10-19 attacks), solo blocks (in a 5 set match), total blocks (in a 5 set match), points (in a 5 set match)
Nikki Brice: assists, digs
Jasmine Brown: assists, aces, points
DeeDee Harrison: hitting percentage
Shealyn Kolosky: attacks (in a 3 set match), solo blocks (in a 3 set match)
Mary Pollmiller: kills, attacks, hitting percentage (with 10-19 attacks), assists, solo blocks (in a 5 set match), total blocks, points
The Lady Vols have moved up one spot in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll to #14. That matches UT’s highest poll ranking of the last 5 seasons. The last time they were ranked higher was the third poll of the 2006 season when they were 13th.
UPDATE: In other systems, UT fell 1 spot to #15 in the RPI, moved up one spot in the RichKern.com Poll, and stayed put at #14 in the Pablo Rankings.
Congratulations to Mary Pollmiller on being named the SEC Freshman of the Week! This is the 4th time she’s won a conference weekly award this season, which leads the SEC. Tennessee leads the conference this year with 10 SEC weekly awards honoring 6 different players. Kelsey Robinson was recognized on the Other Top Performers list.
It’s been a wild day in the SEC but the Lady Vols get the job done. Tennessee earned the 800th recorded win in program history this afternoon vs Alabama in a sweep (25-17, 25-14, 25-13). The victory is UT’s 16th regular season conference win this year, matching the school high. It’s also the 9th win in a row and a school record tying 8th regular season SEC win in a row.
Depending on how the tight Kentucky/Mississippi game turns out, the Lady Vols will be 1 or 2 wins away from a share of the conference title.
More later tonight.
UPDATE: Sorry for the site being down for awhile. Looks like some trouble on my web host’s side, but it appears they’ve fixed it now.
11 players took the court for the Lady Vols (…oh wait, we’re done with that aren’t we!) DeeDee Harrison and Kelsey Robinson led the offense with 12 kills each. Harrison had 5 blocks and hit an astonishing .733. Robinson notched yet another double double with 12 digs. Shealyn Kolosky put down 7 kills, while Tiffany Baker and Leslie Cikra each had 5. Cikra also had 3 blocks. Mary Pollmiller had 6 kills in addition to her 35 assists. Nikki Brice scooped up 9 digs, while Baker added in 8, and Ellen Mullins 5. UT hit .433 while holding the Tide to .125.
BTW — Just as they did to us Friday, Mississippi took Kentucky to 5 sets but lost by 2 points. The Lady Vols’ magic number for a share of the SEC title is 2.
The Rebels once again put a scare into the Lady Vols, but UT was able to pull out the five set win (26-24, 26-28, 25-23, 17-25, 15-13). More very soon…
UPDATES: On 11/11/11, Tennessee’s #11, Leslie Cikra, led the team in hitting percentage with .400 — 19 kills on 35 swings. Kelsey Robinson had a game leading 24 kills — the 11th time this year she’s notched at least 20 in a match. She earned a double double with 13 digs, and hit .365 with 52 attacks. Tiffany Baker had 18 kills on a career high 43 attacks. DeeDee Harrison hit 8 kills and put down 3 blocks. And Shealyn Kolosky had 5 kills on 11 attempts. With a career high 69, Mary Pollmiller got more than 50 assists for the 11th time this year. She also matched her career high with 3 blocks. Ellen Mullins had 18 digs, while Nikki Brice finally broke her three-times-matched career high of 11, with 12 this game.
The team had 16 service errors to 3 aces, while Mississippi only had 8 errors with 5 aces. Tennessee outhit UM .321 to .281. The Rebels add another conference loss to their previous 11, while the Lady Vols move to 15-1.
Tennessee will go for the 800th recorded win in program history on Sunday vs Alabama, who have 11 wins and 17 losses on the year.
Tennessee is down to their last 5 matches of the regular season, and heading on the road for their last away matches this weekend.
The Lady Vols have a 38-6 advantage all time vs Mississippi and are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. In Oxford, the team leads 9-1 in their last 10.
Tennessee is 30-12 all time vs Alabama and 7-3 in their last 10 meetings. They have an 6-4 lead in their last 10 meetings in Tuscaloosa.
Tennessee has a 7 match winning streak going against both Mississippi and Alabama.
Mississippi is one of just 4 teams to outhit UT this season. The others were Illinois, Houston, and Florida.
In 15 SEC matches the Lady Vols have only been taken to five sets 3 times — and all of them were nail-biters: an 18-16 win at Florida, a 15-13 loss at Kentucky, and a 15-13 win over Mississippi in Knoxville.
After starting conference play 1-10, the Rebels have won 4 of their last 5 matches.
After 16 years at other venues, this year Alabama’s volleyball program moved back to Foster Auditorium (their first home in 1974). Tennessee will be playing in the newly renovated facility for the first time since a 3-1 loss in 1995.
Earlier this year Tennessee matched their single regular season record for consecutive conference wins with 8 before falling to Kentucky. With 2 wins this weekend they could once again tie that mark.
Another mark the team could match this weekend with 2 wins is their most ever SEC wins in a (regular) season, which currently stands at 16.
(UPDATE – 11/11) I forgot about this one: a last milestone UT would reach with 2 victories is the 800th recorded win in program history. (There were several seasons early in school history where records are lost or incomplete. But of the games Tennessee does have score data for, we’re sitting at 798 wins all time.)
Check out the previous notes from earlier this year for these two teams to find out: what Lady Vol great is now on the Mississippi staff, and which current Lady Vol went to a high school formerly coached by one of this week’s head coaches.
First 2011 meeting: notes | UM story | UM stats | UA story | UA stats| recap
Official match notes: Mississippi | Alabama | Tennessee (updated)
Mississippi (9-15, 5-11)
Game time is Friday, November 11th at 8:00pm ET in Oxford MS
Follow the match: Gametracker | live video (payment required)Alabama (11-16, 4-12)
Game time is Sunday, November 13th at 2:30pm ET in Tuscaloosa AL
Follow the match: Gametracker | free live video
SEC TEAM RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES TEAMS ACES ASSISTS BLOCKS DIGS HIT% KILLS OPP HIT% 4th 1st 2nd 5th 3rd 1st 1st 9th 9th 7th 11th 8th 9th 6th 8th 11th 10th 8th 10th 10th 10th
highest ranked team middle ranked team lowest ranked team
The NCAA and SEC have updated their weekly statistical rankings of players and teams for the 2011 season. The national stats rank 322 teams and the top 250 players in each category. All stats (except hitting percentage) are “per set”, not totals. I’ve also listed Tennessee’s rank in the polls. Click the underlined links to see the full season’s national rankings charted week-to-week.
↑ moved UP from last week ↔ stayed EVEN with last week ↓ moved DOWN from last week
POLLS NATIONAL SEC AVCA Poll 15th ↑1 1st ↔ RichKern.com Poll 15th ↔ 1st ↔ Pablo Rankings 14th ↑3 2nd ↔ Volleyball Magazine Poll 15th ↑1 1st ↔ RPI 14th ↑1 2nd ↔
NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS ACES ASSISTS BLOCKS DIGS HIT% KILLS 177th
↓724th
↑593rd
↓6155th
↑216th
↑715th
↑6
NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS ACES Kelsey Robinson 62nd ↓18 ASSISTS Mary Pollmiller 9th ↑1 BLOCKS DeeDee Harrison 92nd ↓14 DIGS Ellen Mullins 210th ↑2 HITTING PERCENTAGE Leslie Cikra 149th ↑61 HITTING PERCENTAGE DeeDee Harrison 234th ↑NR HITTING PERCENTAGE Carly Sahagian 244th ↑NR KILLS Kelsey Robinson 19th ↓1 POINTS Kelsey Robinson 15th ↓5
SEC TEAM RANKINGS – ALL MATCHES ACES ASSISTS BLOCKS DIGS HIT% KILLS OPP HIT% 5th
↔1st
↔6th
↓14th
↑22nd
↔1st
↑13rd
↑1
SEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS – ALL MATCHES ACES Kelsey Robinson 3rd ↓2 ASSISTS Mary Pollmiller 2nd ↔ BLOCKS DeeDee Harrison 2nd ↓1 DIGS Ellen Mullins 5th ↔ HITTING PERCENTAGE Leslie Cikra 6th ↑4 KILLS Kelsey Robinson 1st ↔ POINTS Kelsey Robinson 1st ↔
SEC TEAM RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES ACES ASSISTS BLOCKS DIGS HIT% KILLS OPP HIT% 4th
↓11st
↔2nd
↔5th
↔3rd
↔1st
↔1st
↔
SEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES ACES Kelsey Robinson 2nd ↔ ASSISTS Mary Pollmiller 2nd ↓1 BLOCKS DeeDee Harrison 1st ↔ DIGS Ellen Mullins 4th ↓1 HITTING PERCENTAGE DeeDee Harrison 4th ↔ KILLS Kelsey Robinson 1st ↔ POINTS Kelsey Robinson 1st ↔
The Lady Vols inched up a step to #15 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
And Kelsey Robinson and Ellen Mullins earned “Other Top Performers” status in the SEC Players of the Week list.
UPDATES: In other systems, UT stayed put at #15 in the RichKern.com Poll and moved up 3 spots in the Pablo Rankings. In the NCAA RPI, the Lady Vols are up one spot to #14.
Tennessee is now 14-7 all time vs Louisville and 41-7 all time vs Mississippi State.
With the latest conference win, UT’s magic number for at least a share of the SEC title is 4.
With the latest win at Thompson-Boling Arena, the Lady Vols own a 10-0 record at home this year.
Tennessee has won 7 in a row and 17 of their last 18 matches.
Tennessee’s sweep was Louisville’s first 3-0 loss at home since August 2009. It was also the first sweep in the Lady Vols/Cards series since 1995.
UT’s .374 hitting percentage was the most allowed by UofL in the last two years.
Mississippi State’s 25-23 second set win was the first set they have taken from the Lady Vols since 2007.
Tennessee had 4 players with double digit kills vs Mississippi State. That’s just the 2nd time they’ve done that this season and just the 5th occurrence since 2009.
The Lady Vols held the Bulldogs to a .150 hitting percentage — that’s the 10th time this year the team has held an opponent to .150 or lower.
With only 3 losses on the year and with only 5 matches remaining (and a probable tournament bid), Tennessee will have a single digit loss total at season’s end. The Lady Vols have now had 9 or fewer losses 9 times in program history and 6 times under Coach Patrick. This is the 3rd season in a row they’ve achieved that feat.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS:
Tiffany Baker got her 100th career dig vs Mississippi State.
DeeDee Harrison got her 100th block of the year vs Mississippi State.
Ellen Mullins moved up to 11th place all time in single season digs and got her 500th career dig vs Mississippi State.
Mary Pollmiller moved up to 14th place all time in single season assists. She also got her 200th career dig and her 50th career kill vs Mississippi State.
Kelsey Robinson surpassed Nikki Fowler’s sophomore total to move into 11th place all time in single season attack attempts. She also got her 400th kill of the year vs Louisville and her 600th career kill and 300th dig of the year vs Mississippi State.
DOUBLE DOUBLES:
Tiffany Baker vs Mississippi State, kills and digs (4th of 2011, 4th of career)
Mary Pollmiller vs Mississippi State, assists and digs (6th of 2011, 6th of career)
CAREER HIGHS MATCHED OR EXCEEDED:
Tiffany Baker: block assists, total blocks (in a 4 set match)
Nikki Brice: digs
Jasmine Brown: aces, points
Leslie Cikra: hitting percentage (with 20+ attempts)
Shealyn Kolosky: attacks (in a 4 set match), digs, block assists (in a 4 set match), total blocks (in a 4 set match)
Ellen Mullins: assists
Mary Pollmiller: kills, hitting percentage, assists (in a 3 set match), aces (in a 4 set match), block assists, total blocks, points
Kelsey Robinson: hitting percentage, assists
Tennessee continues their march towards a possible SEC Championship with a 4 set win over Mississippi State this afternoon (25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-14). More soon.
UPDATES: The Lady Vols had one of their best team efforts on the season today, with 5 players getting 20+ attacks each, 4 players getting double digit kills, 5 players getting 9+ digs, and 3 players getting 4+ blocks. Leslie Cikra was impressive with 15 kills on 26 attacks with just a single hitting error for a .538 average. Kelsey Robinson matched her in kills and hit .294, while adding in 9 digs. Tiffany Baker notched her 4th career double double (and 3rd in the last 4 matches) with 11 kills and 10 digs; she also had 4 blocks. DeeDee Harrison picked up 10 kills and 5 blocks while hitting .300. And Shealyn Kolosky had 8 kills and 5 blocks. Mary Pollmiller earned her 6th career double double with 45 assists and 10 digs. She also put down 3 blocks and hit a .571 on 7 swings. Ellen Mullins had 15 digs.
Photos from the match are now online.
After all the back and forth rumors with Texas A&M earlier this season I decided not to post anything about this until it was official — and now it is. Missouri will join the Southeastern Conference for the 2012-13 school year. While the press release doesn’t mention it, the rumors from yesterday that proved true claimed Mizzou would join the SEC as part of the East Division. With Texas A&M the SEC will now stand at 14 teams, 13 of which play volleyball. Scheduling issues are still to be worked out. Last season MU made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. I’ll have more about the (third SEC!) Tigers later this week.
Tennessee is 40-7 all time vs Mississippi State. The Lady Vols lead 9-1 in their last 10 meetings, and are perfect in their last 10 in Knoxville. UT has a 7 match winning streak against the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State has only won 2 matches vs Tennessee in Knoxville, the last in 1995.
28 of UT’s 40 wins over State have been sweeps. The Lady Vols have recorded sweeps in every match during their current 7 game streak over the Bulldogs.
With only 3 losses on the year and with only 6 matches remaining (and a probable tournament bid), Tennessee will not have more than 10 losses at season’s end. The Lady Vols have now had 10 or fewer losses 13 times in program history and 9 times under Coach Patrick. This is the 4th season in a row they’ve achieved that feat.
More about the following notes are available in the previous meeting’s post here.
Tennessee assistant coach Rachel Cooper was a four year starting outside hitter for Mississippi State from 2002-2005…
Mississippi State alumna and head coach Hazelwood is the only current SEC head coach to also have attended an SEC school…
Freshman Tiffany Baker’s sister Chanelle plays for Mississippi State…
First 2011 meeting: notes | story | recap | stats
Official match notes: Mississippi State (PDF) | Tennessee
Mississippi State (10-13, 5-9)
Game time is Sunday, November 6th at 1:30pm ET
Follow the match: Gametracker | free online video
SEC TEAM RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES TEAMS ACES ASSISTS BLOCKS DIGS HIT% KILLS OPP HIT% 4th 1st 2nd 5th 3rd 1st 1st 9th 10th 7th 6th 11th 10th 8th
higher ranked team lower ranked team Several promotions and events you might want to keep in mind:
Donate a lightly used book and receive free admission.
Kids 12 and under receive free admission, while the first 150 also get a free hot dog and small drink.
Bring your UT vs MTSU football ticket stub and receive free admission.
Coach Patrick will give a “Chalk Talk” to fans starting 45 minutes before the game in the Ray Mears Room (ask an usher).
I mentioned after the game that my Florida pictures turned out too dark for some reason. But I was able to salvage and clean up some of them and they’re now online. (I did much better with the South Carolina pics.) I’ve also posted some photos from the Louisville match, though due to the ticketed seating I didn’t have the best angle.
The official UT volleyball site has posted a nice piece on head coach Rob Patrick and his 15 years at the helm of the program. It discusses the steady improvement of Tennessee volleyball over the years, the current squad, his personal life, what got him into coaching, and also includes quotes from former players and a behind the scenes video of a practice.