The University of Tennessee women's volleyball team swept the Auburn Tigers in three sets (25-15, 25-23, 28-26) on Friday, Oct. 3 in Thompson-Boling Arena. The game marks head coach Rob Patrick's 230th career victory, making him the all-time winningest coach in UT volleyball history.

Patrick's squad set the pace for most of the first set, holding the Tigers to only six kills and a -.032 hitting percentage. Patrick attributes this success to the aggressiveness of the Lady Vol servers.

"We had a lot of tough serves that really took them (Auburn) out of their offense," Patrick said. "We went after our serves with more confidence than usual."

Auburn came out strong during the second set, and both teams started the frame neck and neck until a five-point serving run by Junior Michaela Hanakova propelled the Lady Vols to a 12-7 lead.

Auburn's numerous ball handling errors, along with a few critical kills by sophomore Nikki Fowler, junior Farren Powe and senior Mindy Flynn, allowed UT to retain control of the set. The Lady Vols most pressing problem, however, was their weak block.

"Auburn attacked our block very well, and we weren't able to defend them as well as we should have," Patrick said. "Our block was what allowed them to stay close because, otherwise, we could have opened the game up a little more."

Powe agreed that the Lady Vols' net play needs improvement.

"Our block has to get better if we want to be able to compete at a high level," she said. "We will be working on that a lot in practice."

Blocking problems plagued the UT squad again in the third set as the two teams kept the score within four points for the entirety of the frame.

Clutch defense by junior libero Chloe Goldman, along with crucial kills by Flynn, Powe and junior Kylie Marshall during the last few points of the game, allowed the Lady Vols finally to end the battle with a score of 28-26. Patrick credits the fans for this close win.

"The crowd won the third game for us," Patrick said. "When the score got to 24-all, they gave the girls so much energy. They were fantastic."

Aside from an enthusiastic fan section, much of the credit for UT's win can be attributed to the impressive performance of Powe, who racked up a career-high 15 kills in 24 swings with no errors.

"We were lucky to have Farren on our side tonight," Patrick said. "We have wanted to get her involved more in the offense. Auburn consistently had the block in her face, and she did a great job of putting the ball away."
As an Alabama native, Powe says playing against Auburn always gets her pumped up.

"I love to play against my home teams," Powe said. "But our defense really gave me the opportunity to take some swings, and the setters put the ball exactly where I needed it."

After the game, the team honored Patrick for his milestone victory.

"I'm very proud of (Patrick), and I'm so glad to have been able to be a part of his 230 wins," Powe said. "Now, we want to keep working hard and get some more wins for him."

Patrick, in his 12th year coaching volleyball at UT, feels grateful for his support staff for helping him to accomplish this feat.

"I thank the girls for being a part of UT volleyball because they put their time, energy and sweat into this program," Patrick said. "I've also been lucky to have so much support from the administration and my assistant coaches. There are so many people involved with the program, and they deserve just as much credit."

This victory over Auburn improves the Lady Vols to a 9-6 overall record and a 4-2 record in Southeastern Conference play. UT's next challenge will come Wednesday, Oct. 8 when they host Louisville at 7 p.m.