The Tennessee Lady Volunteers volleyball team came up empty when they faced off against the No. 8 Florida Gators on Sunday in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Gators proved why they deserved to be ranked so highly in the country by beating the Lady Vols in straight sets, 25-9, 25-13, and 25-17, notching the program’s 13th straight victory. With the sweep, the Gators now have only lost two sets in SEC play all year.
“They were very organized,” freshman outside hitter Kelsey Bawcombe said. “They had a quick offense and were very athletic.”
The first set showed Florida playing some outstanding volleyball. The Gators came out ready to compete right off the bat, and they jumped on Tennessee early. Before the Lady Vols could take a breath, it seemed Florida was already up 13-3.
Florida would go on to win the set in convincing fashion 25-9. The nine points scored by the Lady Vols was the lowest in a single set since November 20, 2013, when the Lady Vols put up seven in the second set against Auburn.
Florida has excelled when winning the first set this year, as they have only lost the second and third set a combined four times all year.
The second set was much of the same. After the Lady Vols won the first point, Florida got in a groove and scored five straight. The Lady Vols would bring the score to 12-8 before the Gators went on a 12-1 run to bring the score to 24-9. The Lady Vols, however, didn’t quit and scored four straight points before Florida tacked on the final point to win the second set, 25-13.
“We were taking some good swings,” head coach Rob Patrick said. “They’re a good defensive team, and we aren’t going to get kills on every swing we take.
“The thing that was really hurting us was our passing. We weren’t passing the ball really well and weren’t getting our middles involved as much as we needed to to be successful.”
The third set was a great outing by the Lady Vols. After falling behind 6-1 early in the set, Tennessee buckled down and roared back, bringing the score to 10-8 at one point. Florida, though, shook off the Tennessee comeback and outscored the Lady Vols, 15-9, to win the third and final set, 25-17.
“I thought we did a really nice job hitting,” Patrick said. “They have a huge block, and they could have had a lot more (blocks). We have to get more consistent with our passing, and we have to get more consistent with digging the ball and coming up with the ball.”
The “huge block” Patrick discussed was by freshman Rhamat Alhassan for the Gators. Alhassan had nine kills on 13 attempts and two errors, which translates to a .538 hitting percentage. Entering the week, she was second in the nation in hitting percentage with .472 on the season. The freshman had five block assists in this match.
Florida (18-3, 12-0 SEC) finished with a .444 hitting percentage in this match, which will surely improve the team’s .302 average, which is fourth in the nation.
On the Lady Vols’ side of the ball, Bawcombe recorded eight digs and also tacked on a kill. Kendra Turner led the team in kills with seven, followed closely by sophomore Ashley Mariani, who had five. Junior setter Lexi Dempsey picked up 19 of the team’s 20 assists, along with five digs of her own, and junior Megan Hatcher also picked up five digs and one assist.
Tennessee (8-17, 1-10 SEC) must now turn their focus to the Missouri Tigers, who have already beaten the Lady Vols in straight sets this year.
“Hopefully, (our energy) can improve next week, and we’ll be better,” Kolosky said.
The Missouri-Tennessee showdown will take place on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena. This will be the last match home for the Lady Vols until Nov. 19 when the South Carolina Gamecocks come to town.
