The UT volleyball team snagged three victories last week with wins against Louisville, Auburn and Georgia at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Louisville  

Tennessee (19-5) defended its home court against Louisville (15-6) by winning three sets to one Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Down a set, the 22nd-ranked Lady Volunteers, including three players who posted a double-double, would rally to win the match by a tally of 17-25, 25-23, 25-22 and 28-26.

“This was a great, physical match for us,” UT coach Rob Patrick said. “In the first game, we didn’t do a good job of really playing along the net and challenging their hitters very well. I was really proud of our team on how they made adjustments after the first game, and they took a little more pride in their defense.”

Senior Nikki Fowler, the Lady Vol Athlete of the Week, posted her 50th-career double-double, which consisted of 20 kills and 15 digs. She is now fourth on Tennessee’s all-time list for kills with 1,567.

Freshmen Kelsey Robinson and Kylann Scheidt also notched double-doubles to help lead the Lady Vols to victory. Robinson had 11 kills and 17 digs, while Scheidt tallied 29 assists and 16 digs.

“We are starting three freshmen pretty regularly now,” Patrick said. “Kylann Scheidt, Kelsey Robinson and Ellen Mullins, who has been playing out of the barrel position, have started. Also, Carly Sahagian has played a lot of matches for us and did a fantastic job.”

Auburn

Tennessee swept Auburn (16-10) by a score of 3-0 in its “Dig for the Cure” event Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols, donning pink jerseys, took their fight to the Tigers and to breast cancer, as they won the match 3-0, while raising more than $1,330 for breast cancer research.

“We are really proud to be partnered (with) Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” Patrick said. “It is a way for us to give back. It allows us to help in an area that really affects quite a few women. We need to help in any way we can to beat breast cancer.”

Tennessee’s attack average of .423 was its highest in nearly five years, when it hit .467 against Alabama on Nov. 11, 2005.

While the Big Orange has had a couple of its best offensive performances against Auburn, it held the Tigers to a season low attack average.

“We have been able to pass the ball very well against them,” Patrick said. “We gave ourselves opportunities in transition by digging a lot of their balls. We were able to hold them to a pretty low hitting percentage. We did a great job of transitioning and getting kills.”

Georgia

The Lady Vols followed the win against Auburn by dominating Georgia (11-14) and winning the match 3-0 in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday.

The match consisted of Tennessee controlling all three sets and winning 25-20, 25-19 and 25-13.

“Georgia is a very physical team,” Patrick said. “They are better than the 3-9 record shows. They have two middle hitters that no one in the conference really has been able to stop. We just served very well against them, and that took them out of what they were trying to do offensively.”

Junior Kayla Jeter led the Lady Vols with 11 kills, while hitting on a .417 clip. Fowler claimed nine kills and seven digs, while Robinson had nine kills and 11 digs.

Senior Leah Hinkey added six putaways, three blocks and a .308 hitting percentage.

“I think the team is coming together really well,” Hinkey said. “We have the trend of playing better in the second half of the season. The seniors have stepped up our game, and hopefully it has allowed the freshman to feel more comfortable playing”

With two home games left, the total attendance record has already been surpassed, as 11,613 people have filled the seats this season.

“We have great fans here at Tennessee,” Patrick said. “We have been pretty successful, and we play a pretty exciting brand of volleyball. We have good community support. Also, our marketing team has worked really hard.”

The Lady Vols will face Alabama and Mississippi State on the road this weekend.

“This weekend we need to go in with the mindset of winning both games,” Hinkey said. “On the road, we have kind of struggled with that.”