Georgia Volleyball Downs Mississippi State, 3-0
ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia volleyball team picked up its eighth Southeastern Conference victory this season by downing the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 3-0, at the Ramsey Student Center on Friday night.
Georgia earned a series sweep over Mississippi State this season with the victory, which came on set scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-15. UGA never trailed in the match and improved to 15-11 overall and 8-7 in SEC matches, while MSU fell to 6-19 overall and 1-13 in league play. The eight SEC wins for Georgia equals its league win total from last year with five conference contests left to be played and a possible NCAA tournament berth on the line. Georgia will go for its ninth SEC win on Sunday, when Alabama visits Athens for a 1:30 p.m. ET match.
“When you face teams like the team we faced tonight in Mississippi State, who know their records are not going to carry them into the NCAA postseason, those matches become really dangerous because the pressure is off of their back,” Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. “So the mentality that we tried to establish going into this match was that it could be a really fun and import opportunity for us to remember why we play the game. Sometimes coaches can warn teams against these situations and that warning can take a negative overtone. We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to make it about a positive in that this could be fun and part of the six-step journey that we have. Now it’s five. That’s how we are looking at it right now. We are trying to win and advance, so it’s sort of a postseason mentality for us already and that’s exciting. I think our team is doing a really nice job with that.”
Georgia posted 41 kills on a .367 attack percentage, its second-highest mark this season, while limiting Mississippi State to just 22 kills on a .119 clip. UGA held a slight edge in digs at 26-23 but had a commanding advantage in blocking and on service aces. Georgia posted 9.0 blocks and 11 aces compared to Mississippi State’s 3.0 blocks and two aces.
“We were missing a lot of serves, but we kept telling our team not to focus on errors because we were taking them out of systems so aggressively,” McCartney said. “To end the match with 11 aces and 12 errors, you’ll always take that because the serves that are not aces or errors still take them out of their play-set system and what they do well. We placed so much pressure on that area of the game that it helped set things up to our advantage, and beyond that, the aggressive tempo in transition gave us easier first-touch opportunities.”
The Georgia squad had a host of contributors led by senior Maria Taylor. Taylor posted a match-best 13 kills on season-best .667 attack percentage, tied a season-high with three aces and had four digs and four blocks. Supporting Taylor’s lead on the offensive side of the net were sophomores Erika Clark and Valentina Gonzalez. Clark finished with nine kills on a career-best .500 clip, while Gonzalez added seven kills on a .583 mark to go along with a career-high three aces. Freshman setter Kathleen Gates paced the offensive output with 32 assists while also adding four aces.
“We had a real even distribution coming out of the second set at the break,” McCartney said. “We made a really conscious effort to feed the hot hands, and that was Maria, Valentina and Erika.”
Defensively, Georgia was paced freshman middle hitter Ann Dylla. Dylla led Georgia’s blocking effort with a match-best six stops.
Also of note for UGA, redshirt sophomore Simone May set career-highs in the match as well. May, who entered in the second set and started the third, had a career-best four kills on a career-high nine attempts to go along with a career-high two digs.
“Simone had the best week of anybody in training,” McCartney said. “She was free and easy, and she was aggressive. Simone was certainly tentative going in tonight but that’s understandable because she hasn’t had a lot of playing time.”
Mississippi State’s effort was led by Ioana Demian and Dorey Gray. Demian had eight kills on a .333 clip, while Gray had a match-best eight digs.
Georgia opened the first set on a 5-1 run, but Mississippi State would cut the lead down to one midway through the set before a five-point UGA run opened up the advantage again. With Georgia at match point at 24-16, Mississippi State staged off the end of the set scoring three-straight until UGA got the final point on a kill from Gates to take the set 25-19.
In the second set, Georgia used a 7-1 run to open up an 11-4 advantage en route to taking the set by nine at 25-16.
Mississippi State gave the third set four ties early on, but Georgia put together a 10-2 run midway through the set to open up a 21-11 edge. UGA would keep that 10-point advantage until the final score of 25-15.
Gamecocks Outlast Auburn, 3-1
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Behind solid outings by junior Ivana Kujundzic and redshirt senior Belita Salters, South Carolina defeated Auburn in four sets, 26-24, 22-25, 25- 19, 25-19, on Friday evening in the Volleyball Competition Facility.
Kujundzic's 13 kills led the Gamecocks (19-6, 10-5 SEC), while Salters added 12. Salters also had a match-high seven blocks, with Kujundzic contributing two solo and two assisted blocks on the night. Sophomore Megan Laughlin had 10 kills, and classmate Hannah Lawing put in nine kills, eight digs and a career-high five aces. Senior Dinelia Concepcion made a match-best 14 digs. Junior Bridget Denson-Dorman added 41 assists and three block assists. Jessica Glover led the Tigers (6-20, 1- 14 SEC) with 16 kills, while Kelly Fidero added 13. Setter Sara Shanks had a team-best 13 digs and 34 assists, with Liz Crouch and Jonelle Wallace making 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
Auburn looked to have taken the first set, taking an 8-2 lead early and working back to a 23-17 advantage later. The Gamecocks would tie it up each time, first at 12-12 after taking seven of eight points and again at 23-23 on a six-point run. The second block by Salters and Denson-Dorman in that latter stretch put the Gamecocks at set point with their seventh-consecutive point. But Auburn would tie it again at 24-24 on Melina Bukinac's kill. South Carolina would not let that stand, as Kujundzic put away two balls in a row to close the set at 26-24. Kujundzic had six kills in the first while hitting .500.
The momentum carried the Gamecocks in the second set for a while, as they staked a 10-5 lead thanks in part to two kills and a solo block by Laughlin. But the Tigers came roaring back, capturing eight-consecutive points to take a 13-10 advantage. Glover made two kills in that run. The Garnet and Black briefly took the lead back at 16-15 on a four-point run capped by a Salters and Denson-Dorman block, but the Tigers answered with a four-point string to make it 19-16 for Auburn. The Gamecocks got within one at 21-20, but the Tigers got a block from Shanks and Glover to get to set point. Junior Meredith Moorhead and Salters kept the set alive with a block, but a Gamecock service error ended the frame for Auburn. The Gamecocks made just six digs in the second set.
South Carolina and Auburn stayed close through most of the third set, with the Gamecocks finally taking an advantage at 16-13 after a four-point skein that included kills by Salters, Lawing and Denson-Dorman. Auburn kept making it a one-point difference until Lawing's serve. The sophomore landed two aces around a pair of Salters kills to close out the game at 25-19. Salters had six kills in the third, while Concecpion had seven digs.
The Gamecocks started the fourth set hot, getting a 10-5 advantage on a kill and two aces by Lawing. This time, South Carolina made it stand up. Auburn got within two twice, but the Gamecocks let them get no closer. A Tiger service error ended the match at 25-19. Kujundzic and Laughlin led the Garnet and Black with three kills each in the final frame.
South Carolina out-hit Auburn, .221 to .197, landed seven aces to Auburn's four and made three more team blocks than the Tigers. Auburn had advantages in kills, assists and digs. The seven block assists for Salters pushed her to seventh in both block assists and total blocks on the South Carolina career charts.
The Gamecocks hit the road for the final time during the regular season, playing at Kentucky on Fri., Nov. 14 and at Tennessee on Sun., Nov. 16.
Tennessee Downs Arkansas in Three Sets
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Tennessee volleyball team (18-8, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) was able to overcome a spirited effort from a hard-working Arkansas squad (6-18, 3-11 SEC) to win its eighth consecutive match with its fifth straight sweep, 29-27, 31-29, 25-18, Friday night at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. Junior libero Chloe Goldman tallied the third-highest, three-set dig total in school history with 25, while senior Milan Clarke posted a match-high 15 kills in the victory.
“Arkansas certainly did not make anything easy for us tonight, but it’s always great to win on the road in this tough conference,” UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. “I thought we made quite a few unforced errors in the first two sets, which I attribute to us not being as focused as we needed to be.
“Kylie, Mindy and Chloe helped us out significantly as they were our most consistent players throughout the match,” Patrick said. “Kelsey did a very nice job of settling us down when she was on the court as well. After we survived the first two sets, the team did a much better job of playing low-error volleyball which is what has allowed us to be so successful during this streak.”
In addition to her 15 kills, Clarke also hit at a solid .375 clip with just three errors in 32 swings. Sophomore Nikki Fowler, meanwhile, recorded 13 kills of her own, while senior Mindy Flynn and junior Farren Powe each collected 11 putaways in the match. Last week’s SEC Offensive Player of the Week, Powe continued her efficient offensive output, collecting a team-best .529 hitting percentage with just two errors in 17 total attacks.
“Milan continues to get big kills for us while also reducing her unforced errors,” Patrick said. “I’m really proud of how she has matured into such a good hitter. We are very comfortable putting the ball in her hands during key situations and she came through in a big way tonight.”
Freshman Kelsey Mahoney finished just one dig away from her fifth career double-double with a team-high 38 assists and nine digs, while junior Kylie Marshall and Fowler tallied seven and six digs, respectively. Fowler also paced the UT blocking effort with four putbacks, including one solo block, while Powe tallied three and Flynn and freshman Alyssa Hilby each posted two.
“I can’t say enough about Chloe’s maturity on the court,” Patrick said. “She is the anchor of our defense and was simply amazing today. She continues to impress me with how well she controls the ball, not only in serve receive but the rockets Arkansas was hitting at her.”
As a team, the Big Orange set three-set match season highs in four different categories, including kills (60), total attacks (139), assists (56) and digs (61).
The Lady Vols were able to survive a strong push by Arkansas in the opening set, utilizing solid offensive performances from Clarke and Fowler to post a 29-27 triumph. As a team, UT hit at an outstanding .419 clip, led by eight kills by Clarke and seven from Fowler.
A sluggish start by the Big Orange allowed the Razorbacks to jump out to a quick 10-7 lead before UT could put together any sort of run. Following an Arkansas attack error that brought the score to within two, the Lady Vols were able to tie it up at 10-all with back-to-back kills by Flynn and Fowler. The two teams traded the next eight scores before consecutive kills by Kelli Stipanovich gave the lead back to Arkansas at 16-14.
A Clarke blast followed, but Stipanovich tipped yet another one past the UT block to keep the Razorback advantage at two. Although Clarke and Flynn both recorded kills to return the score to a deadlock at 17-17, Arkansas answered with consecutive scores on a Christina Lawrence putaway and a Lady Vol attack error, which forced Patrick to burn his first timeout of the match to reorganize his troops.
The tactic worked momentarily, allowing the Orange and White to tie the score once again as Fowler pounded one wide off the right-side block following a ball-handling error by the Arkansas setter. It wasn’t enough for his squad to earn its first lead though, with the Razorbacks regaining the advantage on a UT service error.
Shortly thereafter, with the score tied at 21-21, Arkansas made a push to end the set, going up by two on another Tennessee service error and a block by Lindsay Scanlon and Kristin Seaton. After Patrick’s second timeout, the Big Orange proceeded to claim four of the next five scores, capped off by a smash down the left-side line by Clarke, to go ahead, 25-24. Once again, the Razorbacks responded with Stipanovich’s seventh kill of the frame to return the set to a deadlock.
On the next play, Clarke smashed a kill off the block to give UT its second chance at set point. Arkansas would not go away quite that easily, however, earning its second opportunity to win the frame after taking a 27-26 advantage following a blast by Lawrence and a Lady Vol attack error. The Big Orange dug down deep though and closed out the set with three consecutive scores. Fowler decided she had seen enough apparently, pounding out a pair of kills sandwiched around a solo block.
Another battle ensued in the second set, with the Orange and White scrapping out a hard-fought triumph, 31-29. It was Flynn’s turn to take control offensively, smashing out six kills and hitting .333 with one error in 15 attacks. Goldman, meanwhile, was a force defensively, recording 12 digs in the frame.
The Lady Vols raced out to an early 7-3 advantage, scoring the final three points on kills by Powe, Flynn and Marshall. Much like they had done repeatedly in the first set, however, Arkansas answered right back with a trio of scores of their own to move within one at 7-6. Just moments later, it gained control of the momentum and refused to let go, scoring on five consecutive plays to take a 12-10 advantage.
The UT deficit remained at two until a UA service error sparked a four-score spree that also featured a pair of kills by Fowler and a putaway by Mahoney. The Razorbacks, however, erased that lead immediately, tying the set at 17-17. After trading the next eight scores, Arkansas took the lead at 22-21 on a kill by Lawrence. The lead was short lived though, with the Big Orange taking advantage of a Stipanovich attack error that landed wide left following a timeout by Patrick.
Arkansas Head Coach Robert Pulliza took a page out of Patrick’s book and used his initial timeout of the set following the error but it had little effect as Hilby and Fowler joined forces to send back a Lawrence attack. Obviously not pleased, Pulliza took his second timeout in an attempt to halt UT’s momentum. A ball-handling error by his setter, however, gave the Orange and White a chance at set point.
The Razorbacks continued to battle though, taking a 26-25 lead by winning four of the next five points. This time, it was the Lady Vols’ turn to fight off set point, getting a kill by Powe to the back-left corner and a block by Flynn and Powe. Although Arkansas was able to fend off the next three set points, Tennessee finally closed it out on its sixth attempt of the frame, as a Stipanovich attack error followed a blast by Clarke from the left side.
The Big Orange finally found its groove in third and final frame, scoring a 25-18 victory to move its season-best winning streak to eight matches. Powe paced the offense with a .667 hitting percentage with five kills in six swings and just one error, while Goldman dug up seven Arkansas attacks in the frame.
Trailing by one at 11-12, the Lady Vols went on a four-point tear that included kills by Powe and Mahoney and a block by Flynn and Powe to take a lead it would not relinquish at 15-12. Following a service error that ended the run, UT continued right where it left off by winning seven of the next 10 scores to take a commanding 22-15 advantage that effectively ended the match. The two teams traded the final six points to account for the final score.
The Orange and White will next be in action at 1:30 p.m. CT on Sun., Nov. 9, when it will take on Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. The Lady Vols will then return to Knoxville for a pair of contests next weekend. They will first host No. 12 Florida at 7 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 14 before welcoming South Carolina to Rocky Top at 1:30 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 9. Sunday’s match will be tape delayed and broadcast on FOX Sports Regional Networks at 3:30 p.m. that same day. In addition, the first 300 fans to the match against USC will receive a free set of Lady Vol volleyball trading cards.
Alabama Volleyball Drops 3-1 Decision at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. — In front of a raucous crowd in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the LSU volleyball team started off strong and carried that play to victory over Alabama, 25-12, 16-25, 25-14, 25-14, on Friday night.
LSU (13-9, 8-7 SEC) kept its half-game lead in the SEC West over Ole Miss while Alabama fell to 12-11 overall and 5-9 in conference play.
“We know our backs are against the wall, and we have to take care of what we have left on the schedule,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “I liked our attitudes at practice this week, and we did a great job tonight. We found our rhythm and were able to take Alabama out of what they wanted to do, and our serving took over in the final two sets.”
The Tigers recorded a season-high 12 service aces, led by senior Kyna Washington who had four. With those four aces, Washington moved into sole possession of 10th place on LSU’s all-time career list with a career total of 149. Elena Martinez and Lauren Waclawczyk each contributed three service aces as well.
LSU jumped out in front early on the Crimson Tide by racing out to a 5-1 lead to open the match. Alabama never came within four points of the Tigers after that as LSU ran away with the set, 25-12. Alabama reversed the tables in the second set as the Tide built an 11-5 advantage and pulled away for a 25-16 win. LSU hit at a .500 clip in the third set and scored seven-straight points to win the set after going up 18-14. The Tigers recorded four service aces in the fourth set, including two by Washington to put away Alabama, 25-14.
Offensively, LSU was led by Brittnee Cooper and Michele Williams who each pounded out 11 kills. Cooper hit at an outstanding .500 clip while Williams set a career high with a .476 hitting percentage.
Defensively, Martinez recorded her seventh-straight match with at least 20 digs as she finished with a match-high 22 on the night. LSU also recorded five team blocks, and Cooper led the way with a total of three, including one solo block.
As a team LSU outhit Alabama with a .325 percentage to the Crimson Tide’s .172. The Tigers also recorded more kills (48-40), assists (44-37) and digs (61-53) than the Tide.
Alabama was led offensively by Brooks Webster who finished with a match-high 17 kills with a .240 hitting percentage. Defensively, Amy Pauly recorded 13 digs while Stephanie Riley tallied 10 to lead the Crimson Tide. Callie Johnson finished with two blocks assisted.
The Tigers will now turn their attention to Mississippi State (6-19, 1-13 SEC), which lost in three sets at Georgia on Friday night. LSU will face Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday in the PMAC.
Rebels Use Rousing Rally To Take Down No. 19 Kentucky 3-2
OXFORD, Miss. — It was a magical night on Friday as Ole Miss (11-12, 7-7 SEC) pulled off two rallies, including an improbable surge from behind in the fifth set and the Rebels took down No. 19 Kentucky (22-4, 13-2 SEC) by a score of 3-2 (25-20, 26-24, 19-25, 27-29, 17-15).
The loss was only the second of the season in Southeastern Conference play for the 19th-ranked Wildcats. It appeared the Wildcats would pull off another late rally to claim a five set win over the Rebels as Ole Miss fell behind visiting Kentucky 6-0 to open the fifth set and trailed 8-3 when the two teams switched sides. But the Rebels had other plans as a furious rally saw Ole Miss surge back into the lead with a 10-2 run to go up 13-10.
The Wildcats would fight off three match-points to tie things at 14. The squads traded points from there until Ole Miss used a kill from Caitlin Weiss and a service ace from Emily Kvitle to claim the match with the 17-15 win in the fifth set.
“You have to give credit to our crowd tonight and the atmosphere they created,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “They really make this a tough place to play and they stuck with us to the end. This was the first time we have had a real balanced attack and it was good to see our outsides bring it like they do in practice every day. “Katie Norris is maturing into a nice outside hitter. She comes hard in practice every day and it’s nice to see her produce like that in a big time match. Our serving was a big key tonight because we really put a lot of pressure on them with our serves.”
Norris put down a career-high 22 kills in the match and was one of three Rebels to notch double digits as Miranda Kitts added 15 kills and Emily Jones notched 13 kills. Kitts also added six blocks on the night. Allison Weber led the defensive effort with 19 digs, while Rachel Kieckhaefer added 16 digs and Morgan Springer came up with 11 digs.
The first set was all Rebels as Ole Miss pulled ahead early and took a 9-6 lead on the Wildcats. The Rebels never looked back from there, extending the lead to as much as seven before claiming the opening set 25-20.Norris led the way for the Rebels in the first set as she hit .500 with four kills and no errors.
Kentucky looked to be in control of the second set, easily moving out to a 4-1 lead and holding the advantage until an Ole Miss timeout with the Wildcats leading 15-11. The Rebels struck back out of the break, grabbing three quick points to force a Kentucky timeout and then added two more scores to take a 16-15 lead. The Wildcats moved back out in front, getting ahead 23-20 late in the set before Ole Miss would go on a 6-1 run to claim the second set 26-24 on a huge block from Kitts and Kieckhaefer.
The Rebels had out-blocked the Wildcats 7.0 to 3.0 at the break and had notched five service aces.
The third set saw Sarah Mendoza rise to the challenge for the Wildcats as she put down eight kills and did not commit an attack error to lead the Kentucky rally. The Wildcats took an early lead only to see the Rebels rally to tie the set at 12. But this time Kentucky answered, pushing back in the lead and holding the edge to the end for a 25-19 win in set three.
It was a back and forth battle from the beginning of the fourth set before Ole Miss broke the stalemate and inched out to a 17-11 lead. This time it was Kentucky who pulled off the rally, putting together a big run to tie the match at 22. The squads traded scores from there with each team fighting off set points before Kentucky took advantage of back-to-back errors from the Rebels to take the fourth set 29-27.
The fifth set opened up with Kentucky storming out to the 6-0 lead as it appeared the Wildcats would rally to take a five set match from the Rebels for the second time this season, but Ole Miss answered the challenge with its own furious rally before claiming the match 17-15.
Ole Miss will return to action on Sunday when the Rebels host Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center on campus at the University of Mississippi.