When Ole Miss arrived in Knoxville, the team was 0-4 in SEC games with an attacking percentage below .200.
The Rebels would then proceed to have a .128 attacking percentage against the Lady Vols on Sunday in Thompson-Boling Arena, and get swept (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) on the way to Tennessee’s first SEC victory.
Ashley Mariani helped propel the Lady Vols on a 10-2 run in the second set to take a 12-6 lead, putting the game just out of reach for Ole Miss in what felt like the most consistent volleyball the team had played all season.
“We haven’t been able to play consistently for long periods of time,” Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick said. “Being able to have a sweep against a very, very good team that has some great athletes on it was very great for us.”
The legion of Mariani, Kanisha Jimenez, Kelsey Bawcombe and Shealyn Kolosky combined for 39 kills on the day, but the offensive orchestra was conducted by junior Lexi Dempsey, who hummed to the tune of 41 assists on the day, eight more than the entire Rebel team combined for.
Not only was she a maestro on offense, but Dempsey stuffed the stat sheet in a variety of ways, finishing with seven digs, four blocks and a .333 attacking percentage with zero errors.
“I thought Lexi was a catalyst in terms of how we ran our offense today,” Patrick said.
There were moments of worry, however, such as when Ole Miss put together an 8-2 run at the tail of the second set. The experience and guile of Kolosky came through, however, as she delivered a cunning veteran move to put UT up 24-19 and sucked the wind out of the Rebel’s sails.
“I think a lot of it is provide energy and organization on the court, so for the most part I did that,” Kolosky said on her role in the win. “Everyone really stepped up today and played their parts well.”
Though the win can be attributed to the Lady Vols’ best match of the year, Ole Miss simultaneously played a very poor offensive game, recording 24 attacking errors, nearly a set worth of points surrendered by the inability to effectively kill the ball.
The Rebel’s rough day on offense was highlighted by Melanie Crow and Lexi Thompson, who combined for only 19 kills, compared to 14 errors on a whopping 58 attempts, almost half of the team’s 117 totals attacks.
Rebel junior Nakeyta Clair was second in the SEC in hitting percentage, but was held to a minor .077 by the Lady Vols defense, her lowest of the season.
The win marked the first victory for the Lady Vols since Sept. 20 and their first win over Ole Miss since Nov. 9, 2012, when they went into Oxford and swept the Rebels to win their ninth straight.
The Lady Vols will look to keep up the success when they travel to Lexington, Kentucky, on Oct. 29 to face the Wildcats in a match that will be aired on ESPNU.
