Senior day for the University of Tennessee women's volleyball team also turned into comeback day Sunday.

Not only did the Lady Vols (20-9, 13-5 SEC) lose the first game to South Carolina, but they also trailed well into the second and lost the third before prevailing in five games at Thompson-Boling Arena, 25-27, 25-22, 26-28, 25-16, 15-10.

"I thought we had it the whole game from the beginning," said an excited Mindy Flynn, who was recognized before the match along with fellow seniors Milan Clarke and Lauren LaFlamme.

"I thought we would come back. We are fighters."

The turning point came early in the second game. After the Gamecocks (19-8, 10-7 SEC) won the first game and went ahead in the second, UT coach Rob Patrick called time out.

Improving the focus, not discussing strategy, was his goal.

"I told them that there wasn't anything the coaches could tell them," Patrick said. " I put the responsibility on them."

Tennessee won the second game on Nikki Fowler's kill, one of 22 she had.

South Carolina prevailed in the third, but Tennessee came back to win the fourth and the fifth.

Clarke went out in style with a couple of kills late in the last game.

"We played really well as a team and they helped me get those kills," said Clarke, who finished with 17.

Aiding the Lady Vols defensively were Chloe Goldman and Kylie Marshall, with 24 and 16 digs, respectively. Alyssa Hilby had eight blocks and Flynn had six.

Ivana Kujundzic had 14 kills and 21 digs for South Carolina, while teammate Megan Laughlin had 14 kills.

Although the Lady Vols won to make up for Friday's loss to Florida, they did not completely win over Patrick.

"We didn't play our best volleyball," he said. "We really struggled at the beginning and during the match at certain times.

"Luckily for us, our passing was very good and that kept us in the game. Our defense was also pretty good."

Even if the execution was not great, the experience of being in tight matches was, Patrick said.

"This weekend was really good for us," he said. "We didn't get it done against Florida but we thankfully did against South Carolina."

With road games remaining at Auburn next Sunday and at Kentucky on Nov. 28, the Lady Vols are hoping to secure an NCAA tournament berth.

"Right now we are third (in the conference)," said Clarke. "If we continue to win, we will be second or third and hopefully will get a bid."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.