University of Tennessee
8-16, 1-9SEC
Kentucky
18-4, 9-2SEC
UT Falls on the Road at #18 Kentucky
October 29, 2014 | Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Strong offensive efforts from Kendra Turner and Ashley Mariani were not enough for Tennessee on Wednesday night as it fell in SEC play to No. 18 Kentucky, 3-0 (19-25, 17-25, 18-25).Turner finished with 12 total kills and Mariani had 11 for the second straight contest as the duo combined to deliver 23 of the Lady Vols' 32 kills on the night. The freshman Turner did her damage on a .259 attack percentage and the sophomore Mariani was right behind her at .258.
Turner now has five matches of 10 or more kills this season and Mariani has four.
Lexi Dempsey posted 28 assists and Megan Hatcher led UT with 10 digs on the evening.
As a team, UT finished with 4.0 total blocks as Kentucky finished the match with a team hitting percentage of .333, even after hitting .179 in set one. Tennessee came away with a team attack percentage of .196.
The 18th-ranked Wildcats got off to a quick start to open the match, taking an early advantage of six points at 11-5. But behind the efforts of Turner, the Lady Vols pulled themselves right back into the set as the freshman sparked a 5-0 rally with three consecutive kills. A kill from Mariani and an attack error from UK capped the rally, bringing UT to within a single point at 11-10. Kentucky would respond, scoring five of the next six points and again seized a five-point advantage at 17-12. Another UT push, featuring a kill from Mariani and a combined block from Jamie Lea and Shealyn Kolosky, got the Lady Vols to within two at 17-15, but another UK spurt gave the Wildcats control for good. A 4-1 run put UK ahead 20-16 and the advantage would hold from there as the home team took a 25-19 decision in set one.
Turner finished the frame with six kills as Tennessee swung .156. The Lady Vols also got 10 assists from Dempsey and four digs apiece from Hatcher and Bridgette Villano.
Nothing could separate the two sides in set two as they battled to a 6-6 tie to start the frame. UK was the first to break free, using a short 3-1 spurt to take an 11-8 lead. The Lady Vols kept within striking distance over the ensuing sequence, but a late 6-3 run for the Wildcats saw UT fall behind 21-14 and UK finished out the set with a 25-17 win.
Three kills apiece from Turner and Mariani led the Lady Vols, but UT struggled to slow down the Kentucky attack as the Wildcats swung .459 in the set compared to just .179 in the opening frame.
After some early back-and-forth in set three, the Lady Vols found themselves on top 8-6 after a Lea kill and two Wildcat errors comprised a short, 3-0 run. The Wildcats rallied back and looked in control, scoring six of the next seven points to grab a 12-9 lead, but UT responded with three straight kills -- Kelsey Bawcombe, Turner, and Dempsey each getting in on the act -- to promptly level things once again.
Four exchanged points led to two more ties before Kentucky finally pulled away behind a 7-0 run in the middle of the frame. The extended rally put the Wildcats in front 21-14 and they were able to close it out from there, ultimately cementing a 25-18 final tally.
The Lady Vols swung a match-best .235 in the frame, but Kentucky continued to thrive at the net with a .379 attacking clip.
Tennessee now returns to Knoxville and is back in action on Sunday when it plays host to No. 8 Florida. The Gators are coming in off a 3-0 win over Georgia on Wednesday night. The match is slated for a 12 p.m. first serve and will be televised on the SEC Network.
