After rallying from an 18-14 deficit to force a fifth and final matchup of the night, the stage was set in Thompson-Boling Arena for Tennessee to win its second SEC game of the year.
However, experience showed as the young and inconsistent Lady Vols let their biggest moment of the season go to the struggling Gamecocks, ultimately losing the concluding set and the match (25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9).
The Lady Vols (8-22, 1-15 SEC) were out hit 0.450 to 0.158 in the fifth set, as Koko Atoa-Williams and Dessaa Legros led South Carolina’s charge to the tune of seven of the team’s 11 kills in the shortened set.
In contrast, the Lady Vols pummeled their way through the Gamecocks (16-12, 6-9 SEC) in the second set, led by Ashley Mariani, who recorded seven kills in the set and led all players in the game with 18 kills throughout the night.
“When she’s on she did some wonderful things for us.” ead coach Rob Patrick said
The story of the game was not only Mariani, but the trio of her, Kanisha Jimenez and Kendra Turner. The three combined for 43 kills, aided by 47 assists from the setter duo of Taylor Johnson and Lexi Dempsey.
“Sometimes these matches come down to big points, who plays the big points better,” Patrick said, “and South Carolina just played the big points better than us.”
The multifaceted attack could not put points on the board when it mattered the most, in the final set where sophomore outside hitter Jamie Lea and highly experienced senior Shealyn Kolosky were absent.
“We have three freshmen on the court, three or four freshman and a couple of sophomores,” said Patrick on the inability to close down the stretch “and we’re just really, really young, and the only way you learn how to play the big points better is through experience.”
The Gamecocks were not without fault, however, as their frontline that leads the SEC with 2.44 blocks per set were held to only five total blocks on the night. In comparison, Tennessee’s defense had eight blocks and had five players with double-digit digs.
The Lady Vols offense was not outmanned, but may have been outplayed, surrendering a 0.225 hitting percentage compared to their own 0.209, and giving up an equal number of kills on nine less attempts.
South Carolina’s offense was channeled through junior middle blocker Darian Dozier, who had an efficient 15 kills on a 0.361 attacking percentage, but was quiet in the final set where she recorded a single kill offset by an attacking error.
“We took some great swings, and they would stick an arm out or get hit off a shoulder and instead of it going into the stands, it would go up in the air,” Patrick said, “and that happens.”
Up next, the Lady Vols host Arkansas Nov. 26th on senior night, beginning at 6 p.m.
