After being defeated by the Gators on Sunday, the Lady Vols (8-17, 1-10 SEC) look to right the ship this weekend against the Tigers from Missouri and Auburn.
Missouri (14-12, 5-6 SEC) will be first up for the Lady Vols. The last time the Lady Vols played Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, the Tigers ousted the Lady Vols in straight sets, 25-19, 25-15, 25-16.
“They’re a very consistent team,” sophomore hitter Ashley Mariani said. “They don’t make many errors.”
The Tigers aren’t exceptionally strong in any category. They are sixth in the SEC in hitting percentage (.241) and kills (13.09 per set). Mizzou also ranks seventh in digs (13.96 per set), service aces (1.12 per set) and assists (12.11 per set).
Mizzou’s game relies heavily on two All-Americans: middle blocker Whitney Little and outside hitter Carly Kan. Kan leads the SEC with 16 double-doubles on the season, picking up her latest one last weekend against Texas A&M. In her career, Kan has 24 career double-doubles, the most for a Missouri outside hitter since 2006.
Little is a senior with a major in shot blocking. Through 99 sets, Little has 100 blocks in total, 28 solo and 72 assisting. Her 2.79 points per set is also third on the team.
“Kan is a little bit smaller, but she can hit hard,” head coach Rob Patrick said. “On some teams, both of their outside hitters are the same, so we can just prepare for this one type of player, even though there’s two of them. Well, here, they have three players, and they’re all different. So, we have to prepare for each one separately, and that becomes a little more difficult of a task.”
After Missouri on Friday, the Lady Vols will pack up and head to Auburn to take on a different set of Tigers.
Auburn (10-13, 2-8 SEC) is a struggling team which prides itself on having 14.97 digs per set, which is third in the SEC.
“They don’t make a lot of errors,” Patrick said. “When I’m watching tape of them, they really keep the ball in play and let the other team make errors … We’re gonna have to get the ball to someone who can get a big swing for us.”
Courtney Crable and Alyssa Ivey are the two main workhorses for Auburn. While Crable leads the team in kills per set with 2.83, Ivey boosts her team’s play by posting up 4.01 digs per set, which is fifth in the SEC.
“We definitely have to keep up our energy because that’s the key for us to build momentum in these games,” sophomore defensive specialist Bridgette Villano said. “(A victory) is vital. This is going to set a momentum for the season, and we’re gonna have to play Tennessee volleyball with a lot of heart.”
The matchup against Missouri will take place Friday in Thompson-Boling Arena at 7 p.m. and can be streamed live on the SEC Network +. The game marks Second Harvest Night, and fans can gain free admission by bringing in two non-perishable items at the door. The first 100 fans to do so will receive a voucher for a free hot dog.
Friday night also marks Ugly Sweater Night for students who attend. If a student’s ugly sweater wins the crowd’s approval (or disapproval in this case), the student will win two sideline passes to next weekend’s Tennessee-Kentucky football game.
The Auburn-Tennessee match will take place at Auburn this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and can also be streamed on the SEC Network +.
