The Tennessee Lady Volunteers four-game homestand is coming to an end this weekend, but not before the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats and LSU Tigers come to town.
The Lady Vols will get their big test of the weekend against the Wildcats, whose only two losses on the season have come at the hands of No. 7 North Carolina and No. 13 USC.
“A lot of what we need to do is staying organized on the court (to help us win),” senior Shealyn Kolosky said. “We just need to focus on one point at a time for any team, especially Kentucky.”
The Lady Vols (7-11, 0-4 SEC) will have their hands full with Kentucky’s Shelby Workman, who leads the team with an average of 3.44 kills per set and is third on the team with 2.05 digs per set.
“All we can do is take care of our side of the court,” head coach Rob Patrick said. “That’s what we prepare every day. Taking care of techniques and positioning and being able to make the moves that we need to. If we do those things, we’ll put ourselves in position to dig balls, pass the ball well and run our offense.”
After the Wildcats, the Lady Vols must prepare for the LSU Tigers (6-7, 1-3). Although the team has lost seven games, the Tigers are no push-over. Five of their seven losses came to teams ranked 14 or higher nationally.
“LSU brings in athletes all the time. That’s what they are known for,” Patrick said. “Each team is going to have their own challenges, and we are just going to have to take care of the ball on our side of the net well, and, if we do that, we can be successful in both matches.”
The Tigers are led by Briana Holman, who leads the team in kills per set (3.76), blocks per set (1.67) and points per set (5.02).
The Lady Vols are hoping the home crowd gives them the boost they need to overcome the two juggernauts in front of them.
“Playing on our home court gives us more confidence,” junior Lexi Dempsey said.
This weekend could mark a career milestone for Dempsey, as she currently has 1,495 career assists and is looking to become only the 10th Lady Vol to record 1,500 assists.
With 36 assists, Dempsey will also move ahead of Allison Strickland, who played from 1994-97, to move into ninth place on the Lady Vols’ all-time assist leaders. Dempsey, however, lets everyone know she isn’t nervous whatsoever about her record-breaking chances.
“It makes me excited,” the junior setter said.
The Lady Vols will play the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Friday and the Tigers at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
