Tennessee Outlasts Utah in Five Games

Omaha ? In a match where fast starts were instrumental in deciding each of the first four games, it was Tennessee’s ability to overcome Utah’s fast start in game five that made the difference, as the Lady Vols rallied for a dramatic 10-30, 30-25, 23-30, 30-23, 18-16 victory in the consolation match of the 2007 AVCA Showcase Saturday night at the Qwest Center.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Tennessee (1-1) overcame a pair of negative hitting performances in games one and three to win the defensive battle. The Lady Vols hit just .109 for the match, but UT recorded 19.5 blocks while limiting Utah (0-2) to a .153 percentage.

 

Utah’s Whitney Webb finished with a match-high 21 kills, but she also had 14 errors. Kathryn Hayne recorded 20 kills on .350 hitting, while Milan Clarke paced Tennessee with 16 kills. Both teams combined for 149 digs and nearly 30 blocks, but it was Tennessee’s clutch play down the stretch in game five that made the difference.

 

In the deciding game, Utah started fast, using great defense to build a 5-1 lead. Utah kept UT at bay and built a 12-8 lead before a Tennessee timeout ignited the Lady Vols, who closed fast to 12-11 and forced a Ute timeout.

 

A Utah attack error pulled Tennessee even at 13-13 and a second error gave the Lady Vols their first match point.

 

Webb recorded a resounding kill to tie the game and a Lori Baird kill gave Utah its first match point at 15-14. Leah Hinkey kept Tennessee alive with a kill and Farren Powe gave UT a second match point before Utah pulled even at 16-16.

 

The third time was the charm for the Lady Vols, as a pair of Utah attack errors gave Tennessee an 18-16 victory.

 

The dramatic ending was a stark contrast to the rest of the match, which saw the faster starting team pull off victories in each of the first four games.

 

Utah stormed out to a 5-0 lead in game one and scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points. The Utes enjoyed a 15-5 advantage at the midway point and never looked back, leading by as many as 19. Tennessee crept into double digits with a kill by Yuliya Stoyanova that made the score 28-10, but Utah took the next two points to close out the most lopsided AVCA Showcase single game in the rally scoring era.

 

Tennessee was its own worst enemy in game one, committing 10 attacking errors while registering just five kills and hitting -.172.

 

Tennessee came out much stronger in game two, jumping out to a 5-0 lead of its own behind the serve of Kylie Marshall. Following a Utah timeout, Marshall continued her run with another point before Utah got a kill from Webb to make the score 6-1.

 

Utah continually chipped away at the lead until pulling even at 18-18 and grabbing its first lead of the game at 23-22.

 

After falling behind for the first time in the game, the Lady Vols came back with an emphatic response, using an immediate 5-0 run to score seven of the final 10 points and take the game, 30-25.

 

Tennessee looked like a different team in game two offensively, committing just three errors and recording 17 kills while hitting .368. The Lady Vols also registered four blocks in the game.

 

Utah stormed out to a quick 8-2 lead in the third game and led by at least three the rest of the way. Leading comfortably, tough Utah serving turned a 20-15 lead into a 25-15 advantage that effectively put the game away.

 

Facing a loss, Tennessee jumped out to a 9-4 lead in game four before Utah spent a timeout. The Utes stormed back to score eight of the next 10 points and take a 12-11 lead. Tennessee then took a timeout and then scored four straight points with Marshall on serve to take a 15-12 advantage.

 

Utah nearly pulled even at 22-21, but UT responded following a timeout with four quick points to take a 26-21 advantage. The Lady Vols forced game five when Milan Clarke recorded a kill on game point to give Tennessee a 30-23 win.