University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
6-7
Mercer
3-9
Lady Vols Outlast Mercer in 5-Set Thriller
September 20, 2014 | Volleyball
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- In a back-and-forth match that went the distance, Tennessee prevailed against Mercer 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13) on Saturday at the DISH Lady Vol Classic. A trio of freshmen led the way for UT as Kelsey Bawcombe, Kendra Turner, and Kanisha Jimenez delivered 44 of the Lady Vols' 55 kills in the match.
"We've been using some lineups we've never used before due to some injuries and other things, but we did a lot better job today of being comfortable playing next to somebody new," said head coach Rob Patrick. "In that sense the freshmen did a fantastic job of bringing energy to the match today. We haven't had a lot of that, but we've needed it. They were fearless out there today and did a great job of playing the out-of-system balls and being aggressive with them."
Of Tennessee's (6-7) 173 attack attempts at the net, 151 were taken by freshmen. The duo of Bawcombe and Turner each tallied 17 kills in the match -- a career-high for the former. Bawcombe was especially effective at the net, hitting .317 to lead all players with 10 or more attacks for the Lady Vols.
Adding to the statistical haul, Bawcombe also registered her first career double-double, scooping up 15 digs in the match. She was one of three Lady Vols to achieve the double-dip and was joined by setter Lexi Dempsey's 44 assists and 15 digs, as well as Kanisha Jimenez's 10 kills and 13 digs.
UT claimed the first set of the match by a 25-21 score line, but Mercer (3-9) responded with a 25-20 win in the second game to take momentum into the match break. Riding that very momentum, the Bears surged from the intermission to take an 8-2 lead in set three. With the set, not to mention the match, seeming to slip away from the home side, Tennessee pieced together what proved to be a 10-4 rally to reset the score at 12-12. A kill from Turner and a service ace from Bawcombe propelled the run, and Jimenez capped it off with a big kill off a feed from Bridgette Villano.
The sophomore Villano finished the match with a career-best 17 assists.
It wasn't long before the Lady Vols snared their first lead of the set when Bawcombe hammered another kill to make the score 16-15. That was a lead the home team would never relinquish as it led by as many as five over the final stages of the game on its way to a 25-20 win.
A hard-fought fourth set followed, but Mercer was able to stave off defeat in a 25-22 win, setting the state for a decisive fifth set. Tennessee saved its best for last, though, piecing together a match-high .423 hitting percentage in the final frame. Bawcombe and Jimenez combined for 10 kills in set five to account for 10 of UT's 10 points. Dempsey handed out nine assists in the frame.
The victory is the first at home for the Lady Vols this season and snaps a three-match skid.
The Lady Vols will have just a short time to savor the victory before it returns to action on Saturday night. Tennessee takes the floor against Montana State in the final match of DISH Lady Vol Classic at 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena.
