Lady Vols carry out game plan against Florida

The Tennessee women's volleyball team may have lost a big lead in the first set against SEC rival Florida on Friday night, but it did not lose its composure or confidence.

The unranked Lady Vols did not lose the match, either, coming back to win the next three sets to beat the No. 13 Gators 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-22 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (21-7, 14-4 SEC) had led Florida 14-5 in the first set before Florida rallied to win 25-22.

After a good start, the first-set loss was initially hard to take.

"You can't give games away," said Lady Vols coach Rob Patrick. "I was just frustrated about that. But I didn't lose confidence."

Happier moments were ahead for the Lady Vols, as they won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-15.

In the fourth set, Florida had built a four-point lead late, but Tennessee started coming back in a manner similar to how the Gators came back in the first set.

Tennessee eventually tied the score at 22 and then went on to win the next three points for the victory. What followed was a court-storming celebration by the players more reminiscent of a basketball game.

According to the team, physical, mental and emotional factors contributed to the win.

Patrick said his players have lifted weights later into the season this year, and the conditioning showed in the fourth set.

The tactical strategy also worked.

"Florida leads our conference in hitting percentage at around .300 and to hold them to .149 is pretty amazing," Patrick said. "We were digging balls and touching them on blocks. Our team did a tremendous job of carrying out the game plan."

The fourth-set rally also revealed a little inspiration.

"Our team has so much heart," said excited senior Kylie Marshall. "We left everything out there."

Junior Nikki Fowler led Tennessee with 19 kills, while Kayla Jeter had 12 and Marshall had 11. Kelsey Mahoney, meanwhile, had 46 assists.

For Florida (20-5, 14-4), Kristy Jaeckel led with 15 kills.

The Lady Vols play host to South Carolina on Sunday at 1:30 on Senior Day before closing out the regular season Wednesday night at home against Kentucky.

Seniors being honored will be Carol Cheade, Chloe Goldman, Marshall and Farren Powe.

"You realize how time flies," said Marshall. "I feel like I was a senior (in high school) yesterday."

John Shearer is a freelance contributor.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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