By Logan Starkey
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- Tennessee dismantled Arkansas in a 3-0 sweep during its Homecoming week on Friday night.
On offense, it was sophomore transfer Sydney Jones who made an impact for the Lady Volunteers. Jones notched a season-high 12 kills in the contests, besting her previous Tennessee high of seven,
Jones impressed head coach Eve Rackham Watt with her performance.
“She’s [Jones] been coming along all season long,” Rackham Watt said. “She’s comfortable on both pins. I thought she provided a good amount of offense for us.”
Jones had appeared in just 27 sets before the matchup, but made all three count tonight as she vies for playing time in Tennessee’s everybody eats offense.
“Going out there, knowing your team believes in you and your coaches have been working you, being able to perform was a really big confidence booster for me,” Jones said.
Arkansas’ offense failed to score more than 18 points in any of the three sets. A large part of that was because of a staggering 12 to two difference in blocks between the teams. Middle blockers Chelsea Sutton and Klaudia Pawlik were a large part of that difference as Sutton contributed on six blocks and Pawlik contributed on five.
“Both of them [Pawlik and Sutton] have been really good on the defensive end,” Rackham Watt said. “The better we pass the more we can get them involved in the offense. They’re working really hard to be available in transition which is kind of a thankless job. A lot of the kills you guys see from outside hitters and rightside hitters have a lot to do with how much work those two are doing to pull a blocker.”
Pawlik has battled through injury this season, but has appeared in every set of the team’s last three games. As the Vols look forward, Pawlik figures to be a big part of the middle blocking rotation.
Tennessee wraps up the regular season against Oklahoma on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. at Food City Center before shifting its focus to postseason play.