Nine months and three days after squaring off and losing to #21 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee got their revenge beating Tech 3-1 in Knoxville (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-13). The match is the first of two rematches from last year’s tournament Tech will play this week with #6 Wisconsin coming to Atlanta on Friday. Tech will go into the match witha 5-2 record.
While Tech is in the midst of finding their reliable playing core with 12 new players on the roster, they
found good early season success last week after beating #17 Purdue on their home court. Tonight in Knoxville was a little different.
Tennessee finished with four players with 10+ kills, hitting .319 as a team, over 100 points higher compared to Tech’s .204 hit percentage. Despite winning the first two sets by only two points, they arrived to 24 points with multiple set points to work with both times. Tech needed to hit .406 in the third, a rare rule, and bold substitution by head coach Michelle Collier to avoid a sweep
How it happened
Set 1
Tech put some early pressure on Tennessee’s serve recieve after aces by newcomers Anika Groom and Bianca Garibaldi. Neither team pulled away through six ties to 8-8 before a four point run by Tennessee forced Tech’s first timeout. The Vols then went on their first run, a four point swing to go up 12-8 after Sara Toth and Ital Lopuyo let a ball fall in between them. Tech had countered right back to 12-12, but a successful Tennessee challenge at 12-12 reverted a no-touch call to make it a 13-11 game. That put Tennessee in a good offensive rhythm, going on another four point run to go up 18-14 and forcing Tech’s 2nd timeout.
That timeout iced the Vols serve and got the sideout, but Tech wasn’t able to get within three points until fighting to a 23-20 deficit after a very strong Garibaldi kill. Groom though hit a service error to give the Vols four set points, but won the next two and forced Tennessee’s final timeout of the set at 24-22. At 24-23, Chelsea Sutton put away a free ball to win the set.
Set 2 (1-0 Tennessee)
Not doing 6-2 in this set. Dove into the bench
This set saw Michelle Collier stick just with a 5-1 rotation, leaving Lopuyo and Toth on the bench but putting Liv Mogridge, Bieleski, and Danielle Tansey some run in the game. Tennessee held a 1-2 point lead up for the front half of the set, trading sideouts until Tech found a 4-0 run with a kill and block by Garibaldi. Momentum stalled at the designated media timeout at 15-13 after a Bieleski service error. Tennessee battled to a 17-16 deficit and momentarily 17-17 before Collier successfully challenged a missed net cord call to go up 18-16.
Groom though immediately hit a service error follwed by a Hayden Kubik kill to tie it at 18-18. Tech traded sideouts up to a 21-20 lead before a Chelsea Sutton and block of Garibaldi gave Tennessee a 22-21 lead. Their run got them to set point at 24-21 after two Mambu attack errors. Mambu did land one kill down set point and Mogridge fended off a Caroline Kerr setter attack, but couldn’t stop Tennessee in system at the end to fall 25-23.
Set 3 (2-0 Tennessee)
Both sides again tracked with each other through the first half of the set, this time seeing Anna Fiederowicz get some run for Tech, hitting two kills and a block up to a 15-13 GT lead. Both teams did trade three point runs, then Tech “broke away” with a two point lead at 11-9 after Collier successfully challenged a missed tip call. Tech held the two point lead until Bieleski got blocked to make it 16-16, trading ties up to 18-18. A Garibaldi and two Tennessee errors later, Tech was up 21-19 and forcing the Vols first timeout of the set. Mendes kill moved Tech to 22-20 before a three point Tennessee run put the Vols two points away from the match at 23-22.
Tech tied it at 23-23 after Fiederowicz and Garibaldi went for the same attack, both hit the ball for a kill, and after review the call stood because despite having four players hit the ball, the fact they hit the third ball simultaneously meant it didn’t count as four hits. Collier then made a ballsy sub, taking out Soares and putting Lopuyo at the net to block the incoming Tennessee attack, and did just so to give Tech set point at 24-23, which Bieleski cleaned up to force set four.
Set 4 (2-1 Tennessee)
Tennessee targeted Danielle Tansey on serve early and successfully did so, gaining good momentum with a pair of three point runs to go up 9-5. Collier called timeout after a bad communication error put Tennessee up 11-7. A couple Mendes kills moved Tech closer at 13-10, but ultimately Tennesse was far too overpowering offensively for Tech, going up 19-12 by Tech’s next timeout and finishing off the set 25-13.
Stats and Game Leaders
Kills: Starr Williams (TENN): 17
Assists: Caroline Kerr (TENN): 53
Blocks: Bianca Garibaldi (GT): 6
Hit%: Chelsea Sutton (TENN): .609
Digs: Gulce Gutekin (TENN): 22
Points: Chelsea Sutton (TENN): 19
Takeaways
This was my first full match I’ve seen start to finish this season. The pieces that impress me: our increased blocking ability (Garibaldi!) and our consistency on serve. What didn’t impress me: communication and back line defense. We were out dug 64-49. That is not normal for Tech. It felt once Tennessee unlocked our game, we had nothing to fight back with in the 4th set. While we have a consortium of hitters to work with, nobody is standing out quite yet as our #1 who we can drive blocking attention to. Mambu has power, but tonight she was missing enough attacks (6 kills, 6 errors) that she didn’t even play in the 4th set. Mendes is our most reliable hitter at the moment, but even then she still is getting rotated out when Collier wants to use a 6-2 with Lopuyo and Toth.
The fact we’ve got a win over Purdue still gives me decent hope for the year. The losses to #15 Kansas and rankeable Tennessee aren’t anything to frown at. They are good teams that outplayed us, but not to the extent we need to be pressing a panic button ahead of ACC play. For a team as new as this, lots of little things still need to be fixed, and eventually a core rotation that can gel will find itself. When will that happen? Hard to say, but the pieces are here to still have a good year.
