• Tennessee returns to Knoxville after playing 7 matches on the road. Their last home game will have been 27 days ago when they hit the court at Thompson Boling Arena on Friday. I went as far back as the 1990’s and couldn’t find a longer stretch between two home games. (Though in 2003, Tennessee ended the season with 27 days on the road, playing their last home game on November 2nd and ending the season 7 matches later on November 28th.)
• Coach Patrick will be going for his 250th career victory this weekend.
• Tennessee’s match notes (PDF)
Arkansas (7-6, 1-1)• Tennessee is 10-14 all-time vs Arkansas. In their last 10 meetings the Lady Vols are 7-3. Tennessee won the last meeting 3-0 (29-27, 31-29, 25-18).
• Three players at the Arkansas match have fathers who played professional sports. Lady Vols DeeDee Harrison and Kayla Jeter’s fathers are former players in the NFL, while Arkansas’ Kelli Stipanovic’s father played in the NBA.
Game time is Friday, September 25th at 7pm ET
Follow the match with live stats or a free live video feedMississippi (6-6, 0-2)• Tennessee is 33-6 all-time vs Mississippi. In their last 10 meetings the Lady Vols are 8-2. Tennessee won the last meeting 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-18).
• Tennessee and Mississippi both have new assistant coaches this season, and both are 2007 graduates of the University of Nebraska. Tennessee’s Dani Busboom was a setter/libero for the Huskers while the Rebels’ Bill Egbert was a student manager for the team.
Game time is Sunday, September 27th at 5pm ET in Knoxville
Follow the match with live stats or on ESPNU
Mississippi’s match notes (PDF)
The NCAA and SEC have updated their weekly statistical rankings of players and teams for the 2009 season. The national stats rank 329 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 a few polls. (SEC rankings may include matches through 9/23, while NCAA stats are only through 9/20)
Pablo Rankings: 54th nationally; 4th SEC
RKPI: 49th nationally; 5th SECNATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS – TENNESSEE
Aces: 177th
Assists: 179th
Blocks: 14th
Digs: 37th
Kills: 183rd
Hitting Percentage: 206thSEC TEAM RANKINGS – TENNESSEE
Aces: 4th
Assists: 10th
Blocks: 1st
Digs: 2nd
Kills: 10th
Hitting Percentage: 11th
Opponent Hitting Percentage: 2ndNATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Blocks: Farren Powe – 12th; Leah Hinkey – 117th; Nikki Fowler – 166th
Digs: Chloe Goldman – 61st
Hitting Percentage: Leah Hinkey – 86th; Farren Powe – 220th
Points: Nikki Fowler – 163rdSEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Assists: Kelsey Mahoney – 9th
Blocks: Farren Powe – 1st; Leah Hinkey – 9th; Nikki Fowler – 17th
Digs: Chloe Goldman – 2nd
Hitting Percentage: Leah Hinkey – 7th; Farren Powe – 13th
Points: Nikki Fowler – 8th
Apologies for the delayed recap again! Big things are going on at my other two websites and they’ve required a lot more time than usual. But player stats and the SEC standings are now updated. I’ll do a quick recap today, and then hopefully get weekend previews and the national and conference stats up tomorrow.
– Tennessee is now 17-30 all-time vs LSU.
– With her 28 digs Chloe Goldman has moved into second place on Tennessee’s career digs list with 1,355, passing Amy Morris’ 1,338 digs. She needs 119 more to reach Kristy Dobson’s 18 year old school record of 1,474.
– For the fourth match in a row, the Lady Vols had to go into extra points to decide a set. Five sets in the past four matches have gone long. Tennessee is 1-4 in those sets and 1-3 in those matches.
– Kylie Marshall and Kelsey Mahoney picked up double-doubles.
– Two players (excluding first year players) matched or exceeded career highs: Nikki Fowler (aces) and Kayla Jeter (block assists, total blocks, and points).
Sorry for the delayed updates! I should have everything updated and back on schedule here Wednesday.
Tennessee fell to LSU 3-2 (31-29, 23-25, 22-25, 25-12, 15-11) in their SEC opening match. Kayla Jeter had 13 kills, Leslie Cikra had 11, and Kylie Marshall had 10. Farren Powe had 10 blocks and Jeter had 7. Chloe Goldman had 28 digs, Nikki Fowler had 18, Marshall had 14, and Kelsey Mahoney had 10. Emily Steinbeck had 33 assists and Mahoney had 16. Marshall and Mahoney both double-doubled.
The official site has a couple of new features to tide you over until tonight’s match! First up is a cool interview with Coach Rob Patrick where he discusses his time as a football player at Miami University, a school often called the “Cradle of Coaches” because of the success its graduates have had coaching their own teams. He also discusses the success his own former players have had in the field and talks about which player on the current roster may be next. You can catch the article here and a video is available as well.
Next up is a video featuring Leah Hinkey where she talks about the impact her season ending injury had and how despite the odds she is back on the court sooner than expected.
PrepVolleyball.com has announced their Senior Aces list of the top 100 volleyball recruits in the Class of 2010. Tennessee had a big showing as one of only four schools in the country to have three commitments in the top third of the list. California, Penn State and USC are the other three — not bad company! Congratulations to Lady Vol recruits Kelsey Robinson (#19), Kylann Scheidt (#21), and Carly Sahagian (#32)!
We are almost through the home match drought! Tennessee will end three weeks on the road after they open SEC play this weekend with a match at LSU.
• Tennessee is 17-29 all-time vs LSU. In their last 10 meetings the Lady Vols are 4-6. Tennessee won the last meeting 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23).
• Both teams come into the match with identical 6-3 records.
• Both teams swept Notre Dame earlier this season. Tennessee won 25-22, 25-16, 25-22. LSU won 25-19, 25-18, 25-23.
• In SEC play opening matches under Coach Rob Patrick the team is 7-5.
• For the first half of 2009 SEC play I will be able to write in these notes that Tennessee defeated their conference opponent in their last meeting in every case but Florida.The Lady Vols are 9-1 in their last match vs each of the other 10 SEC schools.
• Patrick will be going for his 250th career victory.
LSU (6-3)
LSU leads the all-time series 29-17
Tennessee won the last meeting 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23).
Game time is Friday, September 18th at 8pm ET
Follow the match with live stats or a live video feed (not free)
The NCAA and SEC have updated their weekly statistical rankings of players and teams for the 2009 season. Tennessee is doing best with blocking and digging stats. The national stats rank 329 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 a few polls.
Pablo Rankings (“computer” ranking): 39th nationally; 3rd SEC
RKPI (NCAA RPI simulation): 25th nationally; 3rd SECNATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS – TENNESSEE
Aces: 132nd
Assists: 164th
Blocks: 17th
Digs: 41st
Kills: 168th
Hitting Percentage: 191stSEC TEAM RANKINGS – TENNESSEE
Aces: 3rd
Assists: 9th
Blocks: 1st
Digs: 2nd
Kills: 9th
Hitting Percentage: 11th
Opponent Hitting Percentage: 3rdNATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Blocks: Farren Powe – 27th; Leah Hinkey – 112th; Nikki Fowler – 174th
Digs: Chloe Goldman – 80th
Kills: Nikki Fowler – 190th
Hitting Percentage: Leah Hinkey – 106th; Farren Powe – 143rd
Points: Nikki Fowler – 111thSEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Aces: Nikki Fowler – 9th
Assists: Kelsey Mahoney – 7th
Blocks: Farren Powe – 1st; Leah Hinkey – 10th; Nikki Fowler – 17th
Digs: Chloe Goldman – 3rd
Kills: Nikki Fowler – 10th
Hitting Percentage: Leah Hinkey – 8th; Farren Powe – 9th
Points: Nikki Fowler – 6th
Sorry for the limited updates last week. Real life got in the way and I was extremely busy with other things. One of those things I have to mention — as I’ve been told several times this week by my daughter! I had planned on going to the tournament in Chapel Hill NC, since we have some family there. But a few weeks ago plans changed. My 8 year old daughter just joined a local volleyball team and her very first game ever was this past Saturday! She’s very excited about it all — and dad is enjoying it too! She’s asked me to post about it on my “volleyball page” so here she is!
Meanwhile….! In North Carolina the Lady Vols had some exciting, frustrating, and just plain out of the ordinary matches. Since I didn’t post them as I usually do, be sure to check out the full story and box score of each match here for full details: UNC, CSU, MU.
vs North Carolina• Tennessee lost to North Carolina 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 16-14)
• Tennessee is now 9-4 vs the Tar Heels.
• The last time the Lady Vols lost a match after winning the first two sets was November 2006 vs Alabama.
• Stay with me on this one, it’s a little complicated to write out! The current senior class (2006-2009) has played in 6 matches that went to 5 sets and were decided by the minimum 2 points. This is the very first time they have lost one of those matches.
• Nikki Fowler was just 1 dig and 2 blocks away from notching the school’s (and her) second triple-double.
vs Colorado State• Tennessee lost to Colorado State 3-1 (26-24, 28-26, 23-25, 25-13).
• Tennessee is now 1-2 vs the Rams.
• 13 points is the fewest the Lady Vols have scored in a set since October 2008 when #9 Florida held the team to 12 points during a set.
• Sophomore Kayla Jeter had a huge match, getting career highs in 5 categories.
vs Marshall• Tennessee defeated Marshall 3-0 (37-35, 25-15, 25-12).
• Tennessee is now 5-0 vs the Thundering Herd.
• All 5 wins against Marshall have been sweeps.
• Every player on the roster (excepting the redshirting Alyssa Hilby) played in the match.
• The Lady Vols came close to three NCAA records:
• 87 points is the second most points ever scored in a three-set match since the rules changed sets to 25 points.• 37 is the third most most points ever scored in a set to 25 points.
• Kylie Marshall’s 15 straight points ties the fifth most consecutive points ever served.
• Tennessee also added to the school record book:
• Kylie Marshall’s 15 straight points served is the best streak in Tennessee history.• Leah Hinkey’s .923 (12-0-13) hitting percentage is the second best in school history, and the best ever with over 10 attacks.
• Very high hitting percentages are rare. In the past eight seasons (which is as far back as I have data) only one other player has hit above .800 when making double digit attack attempts (Milan Clarke’s .813 in 2008). Lowering the threshold to .700 only adds 4 players. Lowering the attack attempts to 5 only adds in 3 more players.
CAREER HIGHS & DOUBLE-DOUBLES• Kelsey Mahoney had double-doubles vs North Carolina and Colorado State.
• Five players (excluding first year players) matched or exceeded career highs:
• Nikki Fowler: block assists and total blocks
• Amanda Friday: digs
• Leah Hinkey: hitting percentage
• Kayla Jeter: kills, attacks, assists, aces, digs, and points
• Kelsey Mahoney: aces and points
After losing two matches in frustrating fashions, the Lady Vols end the tournament with a win against Marshall with the most odd 3-0 score I think I’ve ever seen! Set one went way long at 37-35, while UT finished things off quickly in sets two and three 25-16 and 25-12.
Tennessee scored the second most points in a three-set match to 25 points in NCAA history (87). In the set itself they had the third most most points ever scored in a three-set match to 25 points. (Both as of the beginning of this season)
The Lady Vols suffer another tough loss at the Carolina Classic, falling to Colorado State 3-1 (26-24, 28-26, 23-25, 25-13). Kayla Jeter had 14 kills and 7 digs, Leslie Cikra had 13 kills, and Nikki Fowler had 10 along with 9 digs. Chloe Goldman had 25 digs, Kylie Marshall had 12 digs and 5 blocks. Kelsey Mahoney notched a double-double with 24 assists and 13 digs, while Emily Steinbeck had 16 assists and 5 digs. Leah Hinkey had 4 blocks.
After going up 2-0, Tennessee couldn’t finish off North Carolina who came back to win the next 3 sets (20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 16-14). I’ll post score updates this weekend but won’t be able to do more than that until Sunday.
Sorry for this delayed recap of weekend action — and preemptive apologies for what will probably be a delayed look ahead to the upcoming matches! This will be an abbreviated recap, but I wanted to at least mention some of the achievements the players made.
• Tennessee is 1-3 vs Michigan all-time.
• Tennessee is 2-1 vs Notre Dame all-time.
• Tennessee is 2-0 vs Xavier all-time.• This is the 8th time the Lady Vols have started the season 5-1 or better in Coach Rob Patrick’s 13 years at the helm.
HIGHS• Versus Xavier Farren Powe matched her career high of 2 block solos, matched her second best high with 7 block assists, and missed matching her career high in points by just 0.5.
• With 3 aces and a kill vs Notre Dame, Kelsey Mahoney matched her career high for aces and bested her high for points.
• Kayla Jeter just broke her career high for attacks and just missed her career high for kills vs Xavier.
• Amanda Friday apparently thrives when facing ranked teams. Last season she got her first career ace vs #12 Florida. This weekend she got the first kill of her career vs #7 Michigan.
• Nikki Fowler and Kylie Marshall tied their second best ever performances with 3 aces each vs Xavier.
RECORDS• Chloe Goldman has moved past Julie Knytych to claim the #4 spot on the career digs list with 1,271.
• Leah Hinkey has taken sole possession of the #10 spot on the career blocks chart with 325.
• Kylie Marshall moves up to #7 on the career digs list with 1,061, passing Molly Mooney and Erica Lear.
• Farren Powe moves into a tie for #9 with Annette Young-Gillcrist on the career blocks per set list with 0.90.
After a 5-1 start the Lady Vols are moving up in the latest AVCA poll. Unofficially counting out the votes beyond the top 25, Tennessee stands at 33rd in the nation. Other SEC teams include #4 Florida, #17 Kentucky, and #27 LSU.