By: Brian Rice
For SEC Digital Network
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Momentum and runs are two staples of collegiate volleyball.
In the third set Thursday night, Tennessee found itself on the wrong end of the momentum, trailing Duke 7-3 after a 6-0 Blue Devil run. Set three was beginning to strike an eerie resemblance to the second, where a 10-1 Duke run had powered the Blue Devils to a 25-23 win to even the match at a game apiece.
But, unlike in the previous set, the Lady Vols were able to turn the momentum, and the match, back in their favor. Three kills from Leslie Cikra and an ace from Ellen Mullins sparked Tennessee to a 6-0 run of its own to establish a lead that would not be relinquished en route to a 25-19 third-set win.
“That’s volleyball, those momentum swings,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “That’s what you have to be careful of, you have to stop them when they’re going against you, and we didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
To clinch the match in the fourth set, UT had runs of 5-0 and 6-0 to put the frame and the match out of reach for Duke, winning the fourth set, 25-16 and advancing the Lady Vols to the second round for the third-consecutive season.
“The biggest thing we focused on in games three and four was trying to get a side out right away in certain rotations that they were getting runs in,” SEC Player of the Year Kelsey Robinson said.
As advertised, Tennessee’s youth movement led the attack. Robinson, a sophomore, recorded her 22nd double-double of the year with a team-high 19 kills to go along with 11 digs. Fellow sophomore Ellen Mullins led the team with 18 digs from the libero position and had two service aces.
In their first NCAA Tournament match, the Lady Vol freshmen continued their impressive efforts. Tiffany Baker had 14 kills to go with eight digs and an ace. Nikki Brice tallied 14 digs, while SEC Freshman of the Year Mary Pollmiller had a match-high 47 assists and four kills.
“When half of your team that is out there has never been in an NCAA Tournament, being able to come out and play a very steady first match in an NCAA Tournament was very good,” Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick said. “They’ve been doing what they’ve been doing all year long, (which) is playing beyond their years.”
Robinson echoed the head coach’s praise of the freshmen.
“They were mentally ready for the game. As a freshman going in to the NCAA Tournament, obviously you’re going to be nervous, you don’t know what to expect and that feeling is a little overwhelming, but they handled it well and played like upperclassmen.
“Rob said going into the tournament that we all know what we needed to do, and he finished that by saying the freshmen needed to be sophomores now, and they really helped us win the match.”
Next up for Tennessee is Ohio State, which defeated Middle Tennessee State, 3-1, in their first round match. Junior Leslie Cikra, a Chagrin Falls, Ohio, native, has been waiting for the opportunity to face her home state school. A chance she’ll have with a trip to the Gainesville Regional on the line.
“I’ve been waiting to do this since I got here,” Cikra said. “This is a match I’ve been waiting for, I’m very excited about that.”