| SUNDAY VOLLEYBALL RESULTS |
Kentucky 3, Auburn 2
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Ole Miss 3, LSU 2
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Florida 3, Mississippi State 0
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Tennessee 3, Georgia 1
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| Arkansas 3, Alabama 0 |
No. 24 Kentucky Outlasts Auburn in Five Sets
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A balanced performance both offensively and defensively lifted the No. 24 Kentucky volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12) victory at Auburn on Sunday afternoon. Junior Christine Hartmann matched a career high with 54 assists and posted a career-best eight blocks to lead the charge.
With the win Kentucky improves to 19-4 overall and 10-2 in league play. Auburn drops to 9-13 overall and 3-9 in conference action.
“People might think I’m crazy for saying this, but we really needed that,” UK coach Craig Skinner said. “We needed to know that we were capable of winning in a tough environment with our backs against the wall. Several people really stepped up for us in that fifth set led by Stephanie Klefot who showed tremendous leadership to push us through.”
Hartmann’s 54 assists led the offense as four players recorded 13 or more kills in the match and UK posted a .261 hitting percentage. Junior Ashley Frazier struck for 15 to lead the way, and senior Becky Pavan added 14. Sophomore Whitney Billings turned in a 13-kill performance on a squad-best .435 hitting percentage. Freshman Lauren O’Conner matched Billings with 13 kills.
On the defensive side of things, junior libero Stephanie Klefot had a season-best 26 digs in conference action to pace the back-line. Freshman Jackie Napper notched her second double-figure dig effort of the weekend with a career-best 13 scoops in league play. Pavan also had eight blocks in the match as the Wildcats totaled 14 in the five-set match. Senior Ann Armes totaled nine kills to aid the Wildcat cause.
Auburn opened the scoring in the final set and quickly secured a 5-1 lead to force the Wildcats into an early timeout. Out of the break, Auburn served the ball into the net and from there it was all UK. Frazier smacked down a kill and then O’Conner earned an ace. Frazier posted her second kill in two attempts in the set to even the score at five and force the Tigers into a timeout.
Following the break the Wildcats offense did not slow down as Pavan struck for a kill and then Frazier totaled two more to give UK an 8-5 lead. Auburn finally snapped the 7-0 UK run with a kill. The Wildcats two-point cushion was enough though as the Blue and White fended off the Tigers and stretched the lead to four at 12-8 following back-to-back errors by the Tigers. Auburn opted to use its final timeout.
Out of the break, Auburn posted a kill and then the Wildcats responded with consecutive kills from Billings and O’Conner for a 14-9 edge. The Tigers fended off match points on three occasions to pull to within 14-12 and the Wildcats opted to use its final timeout. UK used the break to regroup and O’Conner quickly lifted the Wildcats to a win with her 13th kill of the match.
The Blue and White earned a 25-18 first set victory to grab the early lead as the Wildcats utilized an 11-3 run to close out the set. Kentucky posted 16 kills on a sizzling .433 hitting percentage with six players recording two or more in the stanza.
Frazier opened the scoring with a kill, but Auburn responded with a quick four consecutive points. The Wildcats clawed their back into things and knotted the score at 11 following a kill from Billings. UK grabbed its first lead of the set when it forced the home squad into an erroneous attack. It was all Kentucky from there as the Wildcats scored 11 of the final 13 points which included five kills and a solo rejection from Hartmann.
Auburn captured the second set to even the match behind a 25-11 victory. The Wildcats charted just 11 kills on a .172 hitting clip and committed six errors. Auburn struck for 14 hammers on a .367 percentage to grab the win.
The Wildcats responded with a 25-19 third set victory to go up 2-1. The Blue and White created its own offense with 18 kills on a .364 hitting and five blocks to score 23 of its 25 points in the frame. Auburn committed just two other hitting errors in the frame.
Pavan opened the frame with a kill and then teamed up with Hartmann for a rejection for an early 2-0 edge. Auburn stormed back and took the lead at 3-2. Kentucky fought back and eventually captured the edge back on kills from Billings and O’Conner. The Wildcats then maintained a lead for the rest of the way. Pavan concluded the set the same way she began it with a kill.
Auburn forced the deciding fifth frame with a 25-21 fourth set win that featured six tie scores and a pair of lead changes. The Wildcats totaled just 12 kills on a .143 hitting clip as the Blue and White committed seven hitting errors in the set. Auburn, meanwhile, posted 15 hammers to stave off the visitors.
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OLE MISS ROARS BACK LATE TO TAKE DOWN LSU 3-2
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Rebels fought off six match points in the fourth set before roaring out to an insurmountable lead on the Tigers in set five as Ole Miss (6-14, 2-10 SEC) defeated LSU (14-7, 7-4 SEC) by a score of 3-2 (12-25, 25-20, 16-25, 33-31, 15-13) on Sunday.
A pair of Rebels hit over the .400 mark for the match as Allegra Wells led the way, hitting .400 with a career-high 18 kills and senior Regina Thomas hit .450 with 10 kills and four blocks on the afternoon. Sophomore Kara Morgan added 12 kills to help the Rebels in the upset bid of the Tigers.
It was a double-double for Morgan, who also put down 14 digs on the afternoon. Senior Morgan Springer led the back row defense with 24 digs, while Amanda Philpot also tallied a double-double with 47 assists and 13 digs.
“It’s seemed like a long time coming, but I think it’s a reflection of how hard the team has continued to work when they could have easily given up on this season,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “The things we continue to talk about each day in practice were brought to the floor today.
“Allegra had a great match along with Regina, and Morgan Springer had a great defensive performance,” Getzin continued. “It was truly a team effort as we brought in a lot of players off the bench in situations and it worked for us.”
Ole Miss fell behind early in the first set and never recovered as LSU opened the match with an 11-2 run to set the tone from the start. The Rebels were never able t get an offensive rhythm going as the home team pushed through from the start on the way to a 25-12 win in the first set.
The Rebels reversed fortunes in the second half, responding to the first set performance by weathering an early back-and-forth with the Tigers to push out to a 15-11 lead on LSU. A run from the Tigers erased the Rebel lead and tied the set at 15. A kill from Kellie Goss sparked another Rebel run that put Ole Miss up 20-16 and sent LSU to the benches in a timeout.
The lead held the rest of the way, as Ole Miss grabbed the second set 25-20 and evened the match at a set each heading into the break.
The third set looked more similar to the first than the second, as the Rebels fell behind early to the Tigers. Except for a tie at one, Ole Miss couldn’t match the offensive output of the Tigers in the third frame, falling 25-16.
After another early back-and-forth struggle to open the fourth set, the Rebels snapped an 8-8 tie thanks to a service error from LSU and a kill from Kara Morgan to put together a run out to a four-point lead at 14-10. The lead held for a bit, but the Tigers put together another run and sent Ole Miss into a timeout up 18-17.
LSU would tie the set three times from there, but Ole Miss responded each time with a critical play to grab a 24-22 lead on the Tigers. The Rebels couldn’t hold LSU in check as the Tigers scored twice on set point to even the score at 24 before another LSU kill sent Ole Miss into a second timeout down 25-24.
The squads fought back and forth from there with the Rebels fighting off six match points before grabbing the win in the fourth set 33-31 and sending things to a decisive fifth set.
Ole Miss came roaring out of the gates in the fifth set, quickly establishing a 5-2 lead and sending the home-standing Tigers into a timeout. The Rebels continued to build on the advantage from there, holding an 8-3 lead on LSU when the teams switched ends of the court at the halfway point of the set.
The Tigers pushed back and cut into the Rebel lead, but Ole Miss wouldn’t be denied, fighting off each LSU rally before claiming the match with a 15-13 win in set five.
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No. 13 Gator Volleyball Makes It Eight Straight with 3-0 Sweep of Mississippi State
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 13 Florida volleyball team continued its sweep streak behind the stellar performances of junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) and senior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.), as the Gators defeated Mississippi State, 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon. With the Gators’ eighth consecutive 3-0 sweep, Florida moved to 17-3 on the season and 10-1 in SEC play. The Orange and Blue have not dropped a set since their 5-set defeat at home against Tennessee on September 25th, winning 24 straight sets.
Wiggs led the Gators with 11 kills on 17 swings with no errors, hitting .647 against Mississippi State. Anderson had one of her most complete performances of the season, notching eight kills on 12 swings, hitting an errorless and match-high .667 to go along with match-highs in blocks (four) and aces (three).
Florida’s senior All-Americans Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) combined for 15 kills and 18 digs on the afternoon, as Jaeckel saw her 14-match double-digit hitting streak come to an end on Sunday. Three Gators had double-digit digs on the afternoon, as Jaeckel, freshman defensive specialist Madison Monserez (Orlando, Fla.) and redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) each contributed 10 digs against the Bulldogs.
The first frame started off in favor of the Gators with a Ferrell missile through the Bulldog defense, and a Murphy service ace that widened the Orange and Blue lead over Mississippi State, 4-0. Anderson found the seam of the Bulldog block and sparked a 3-0 run for the Gators, 8-2. The aggressive Florida offense continued with back-to-back Jaeckel kills that gave the Gators their biggest lead of the set, 11-2. Mississippi State battled back with a 3-0 run, reducing the Florida lead to 15-9. A 4-0 run put the Bulldogs only two points away from tying the set, 19-17, despite a Gator timeout in an attempt to shift momentum. The Gators took their second timeout of the set after Murphy hit a ball long and tied the set at 21-21. An Anderson-Jaeckel stuff block put Florida at set point, 24-22. Wiggs delivered the final cross-court blast that secured the first set for Florida, 25-23.
Florida took an initial 2-0 lead over Mississippi State to begin the second stanza. The Bulldogs fought for the lead and after multiple ties and lead changes, Mississippi State went on a 7-0 tear, taking a 13-5 lead. The momentum finally changed after Jaeckel broke the seam of a Mississippi block that sparked an 8-0 run for Florida, tying the score at 13 behind the serve of Jaeckel. An Anderson blast through the middle of the Bulldog defense put the Gators just five points away from the set win, 20-16. Mississippi State could not recover the lead, and a Bulldog attacking error gave Florida the 25-18 set win and the 2-0 advantage going into intermission.
An Anderson bullet through a Bulldog block put her behind the service line for a 3-0 run that gave the Gators a 4-2 lead. Both teams continued to trade points, tying the score another six times before a Wiggs attack ignited a 3-0 run, giving the Gators a 14-10 advantage. The Orange and Blue extended the lead to 18-11, courtesy of a 4-0 with sophomore setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) behind the service line. A Ferrell blast gave the Gators their biggest lead of the third frame, 21-13, and Anderson’s ace ended the set with a 25-18 victory and a 3-0 match win.
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Tennessee Ends Four-Match Road Trip With 3-1 Win Over Georgia
ATHENS,Ga. - The No. 20 University of Tennessee volleyball team started its second half of the SEC season much like the first, as the squad made it a perfect weekend by defeating Georgia in four sets, 25-15, 25-23, 26-28, 25-21, on Sunday afternoon at the Ramsey Student Center in Athens, Georgia.
With the victory of UGA, the Lady Vols have now won three straight, improved their overall record to 18-3 and are an impressive 11-1 against the Southeastern Conference.
“We came into Georgia knowing that Georgia has a very potent offense and very physical hitters,” Lady Vol head coach Rob Patrick said. “We knew our work would be cut out for us being on the road and being in their home gym. I challenged our players to really win the hustle plays. I’m very pleased to how they responded to that. I thought that was the key to winning this match. How hard we played, how hard we went after the ball. It was a good win for us.”
Sophomore Kelsey Robinson filled up that stat sheet again, tallying a team-best 19 kills and 16 digs, as she recorded her SEC best 16th double-double on the year. Robinson has now registered double digits in kills and digs in six straight matches.
Junior DeeDee Harrison was a big factor on both sides of the net, as she ranked second on the team with 12 kills, while hitting a team-best .429 against the Bulldogs. Defensively, she sent six UGA attacks back, as she led the team in the blocks category. Leslie Cikra, a junior, was the third Lady Vol who tallied 10 kills or more, as she slammed down 10 versus UGA.
“Kelsey Robinson did a wonderful job of really leading our team today on the court,” Patrick said. “I thought she was a huge reason why we were able to win a couple of those close sets and win the match. DeeDee Harrison was very big in the middle She has always been an offensive force for us, be she’s doing a wonderful job blocking now. ”
Freshman Tiffany Baker was one kill shy of 10, as she notched nine kills to go along with four blocks. Fellow freshman Shealyn Kolosky also was an all-around performer, as she blasted five kills and registered three blocks. Ellen Mullins has now dug up double digit digs in all 12 SEC matches this season, as she had 14 on Sunday. She also had a team-best 39 service receptions with only had one error.
For the 11th time this season, setter Mary Pollmiller tallied at least 50 helpers as she had 53 of UT’s 54 assists against Georgia. Nikki Brice had a career day at the service line, as the freshman recorded four service aces to better her previous-best of three, which came against Houston.
The Big Orange stormed out of the gates in the first set, as the team hit .423 in the frame. Down 3-2, kills from Baker and Robinson and a UGA attack error gave Tennessee a 5-3 advantage. Georgia would tie the match at five and six, but a serving error by the Bulldogs gave Tennessee the lead for good at 7-6.
After the service error, Pollmiller and Kolosky combined for two blocks and a Bulldog attack error pushed the Orange and White lead to 10-6. The Bulldogs would get to within three at 12-9, but a 3-0 by UT by way of a Harrison kill, a solo block by Baker and a Robinson ace gave the Lady Vols a 15-9 lead.
Up four, 17-13, Tennessee scored three consecutive points to push the lead to seven, 20-13. During that stretch, Robinson and Baker each had a kill to go along with a ball handling error by Georgia. The Lady Vols closed out the set by scoring five of the final six points, with Harrison leading the charge. Harrison had a pair of kills plus combined to send a UGA attack back along with Pollmiller. Robinson and Kolosky also had kills.
The defense was just as good as the offense in the set, as the Lady Vols limited the Bulldogs to a hitting percentage of .074 in the first set. Pollmiller had three blocks in the opening set, while Kolosky had a pair. Offensively, Robinson and Harrison each tallied five kills.
Georgia jumped out to a quick 3-1 advantage in the second set, before blasts from Robinson and Cikra would even things at three apiece. The set would be tied at seven and eight before the Orange and White would grab their first lead at 9-8 as a result of a UGA attack error. A kill from Robinson and a UGA miscue gave Tennessee an 11-8 advantage.
The Lady Vols would lead by as many as four in the set, 13-9, 14-10 and 15-11 before the Bulldogs rallied and scored five straight to take a 16-15 lead. Tennessee would regain the lead at 17-16 off a Bulldogs attack error. Tied at 18 all, Tennessee would score three in a row and four out of five to grab a 22-19 advantage. During the span, Robinson and Harrison combined for three kills.
The Bulldogs would go on a 3-0 rally to knot the set at 22 before Tennessee would close the set out by scoring three of the final four points. A laser sent down the line by Robinson and a block by Harrison and Baker got UT within one, 24-22, and two points later a Cikra kill ended it, 25-23.
A Robinson kill gave Tennessee the first point of the third frame before the Bulldogs would score eight of the next 10 to grab a quick 8-3 lead and forced Tennessee to call timeout. Following the break, Cikra would tally a kill and two points later, a Kolosky kill fueled a 6-0 rally by the Orange and White to regain the lead, 10-9. The set would be tied at points 11 through 17 before Tennessee went on another run.
A kill from Cikra made the match all square at 17, which was the beginning of a 4-0 spurt. Tennessee took a three point lead after two UGA errors and a service ace by Brice. A bad set by the Bulldogs would give Tennessee the opportunity to serve for the match at 24-22, but the Lady Vols could not end it as UGA scored three straight to take a 25-24 lead.
Robinson hit a shot to even the match at 25 and an attack error by Georgia gave UT match point again, 26-25. Georgia would not go quietly, scoring three consecutive points to earn the set point, 28-26.
The fourth frame was a seesaw battle between both teams, as UGA and UT split the first 14 points. Down 8-7, kills from Baker and Robinson, a solo block by Harrison and a UGA attack error gave Tennessee an 11-8 advantage. The Lady Vols would not relinquish that lead until the Bulldogs tied the fourth frame up at 16.
Georgia took a slim 20-19 lead, but it wouldn’t last long as UT would rattle off the next four points. Kills from Cikra and Baker, a Brice serving ace and an attack error vaulted Tennessee to a 23-20 advantage..UT would not look back as a Baker smash made the score 24-21 and Jasmine Brown gave the Lady Vols the set, 25-21, with an ace.
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Razorbacks sweep Alabama in weekend finale
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three Razorbacks tallied double-digits kills as the University of Arkansas volleyball team knocked Alabama in straight sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) Sunday afternoon at Barnhill Arena. Jasmine Norton paced the team with a match-high 11 kills while Amanda Anderson and Kelli Stipanovich each totaled 10 kills. Defensively, Anderson had a career-high eight total blocks and libero Christa Alvarez registered a match-best 17 digs.
Stipanovich collected her team-leading 10th double-double performance, adding 12 digs to her kill total. The Razorback offense, directed by 33 assists from Raymariely Santos, posted a .313 hitting percentage. Sunday’s match marked the fifth time Arkansas has hit .300 or higher in a match this season, and second time during SEC play.
For the first time since 2006, the Razorbacks swept a Southeastern Conference weekend with a pair of 3-0 wins. Arkansas beat Ole Miss Friday in straight sets.
“I thought today’s match was our best Sunday effort of the year,” head coach Robert Pulliza said. “It showed in the numbers and it showed in the outcome. We’ve been talking about putting together back-to-back matches in the SEC. If you want to be the best in this conference, you have to put back-to-back matches together and I thought we played our best volleyball of the weekend today so I’m proud of our players for that.”
After an even start between the two teams, Arkansas (14-8, 6-5 SEC) opened a 13-9 advantage behind consecutive blocks from Stipanovich. She teamed with Anderson on the first and Kasey Heckelman on the second. Out of a timeout, Alabama (10-13, 3-9 SEC) won the next three points to pull to within one after a tandem block by Leigh Moyer and Shelbi Goode.
However, the Razorbacks maintained their lead and pushed their advantage to 20-14 after back-to-back attack errors by the Crimson Tide. With consecutive kills by Anderson and Norton, Arkansas arrived at set point. On the team’s third chance to close out the opening game, Anderson pounded her third kill of the day to close out the set in favor of the Razorbacks, 25-17.
“I don’t want a 10-kill match to be a highlight, it should be happening every time,” Anderson said. “That would make things easier for Kelli and Jasmine on the outsides. I’ve just been working hard in practice with (Raymariely). We’re getting pretty good at going at it every time and watching it more.”
The home team jumped out to the early 4-0 lead in the second set. The Razorbacks never trailed in the set, holding at least a two-point advantage throughout the game. Arkansas opened a 14-7 lead, its largest of the set, after a pair of tandem blocks involving Anderson. Later in the set, the Crimson Tide cut its deficit to two after an attack error by Norton.
But the Razorbacks responded to regain control of play and led 21-17 after kills from Norton and Santos. Arkansas won the last four points of the set to take a 2-0 match lead. Heckelman closed out the game with back-to-back service aces and the Razorbacks won the set, 25-19.
Playing with the lead, Arkansas closed out the Crimson Tide in the third set. The teams traded points to start the game but the Razorbacks turned a one-point advantage into a 10-6 lead after a kill from Anderson. Another put away from the junior middle blocker pushed the Arkansas lead to five. Out of an Alabama timeout, Norton extended her team’s lead to seven, 20-13.
Kayla Fitterer had three kills for the visitors down the stretch but the Razorbacks’ lead was never in question. Roslandy Acosta gave Arkansas match point with a kill. After Alabama saved one match point, Acosta found the floor for the final kill of the match.
“We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Santos said. “We’ve been preparing ourselves really well. We just have to keep going at it and working hard in practice Monday and Tuesday because Wednesday will be here soon.”