AUBURN, Ala. – Facing a top-25 opponent for the first time this season, Auburn volleyball (8-3, 0-1 SEC) returns to Southeastern Conference play with its first road test in league play as the Tigers trek to Knoxville, Tenn., to face No. 20 Tennessee (10-2, 2-0 SEC) Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Wednesday's match is scheduled for a nationally televised broadcast on SEC Network. Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman will have the call. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT.
QUICK HITS
- Facing its first top-25 opponent of the 2021 season, Auburn volleyball is searching for its first win over a ranked opponent in four years. Auburn last victory over a ranked team came in 2017 (3-1 vs. #16 North Carolina).
- Bella Rosenthall enters Wednesday's match with 935 career digs. She is just 65 digs shy of becoming just the 15th Tiger in program history to reach 1,000 career digs.
- Making the move to middle blocker, Tatum Shipes has shined at the position, leading the team in blocks. She ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with a 1.39 blocks per set average.
- Auburn returns to Southeastern Conference action facing No. 20 Tennessee in Knoxville. Auburn is searching for its first victory over the Lady Vols since the 2017 season. That season the Tigers swept both matches against Tennessee during the regular season.
- Leading the conference with a 5.34 digs/set average, Bella Rosenthall has recorded at least 10 digs in 11 consecutive matches. A two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week honoree this season, Rosenthall's digs/set average is currently the highest recorded in a single season by a Tiger in the 25-point Rally Score era.
- Leading the squad with six double-doubles this season, sophomore Jackie Barrett has blossomed as the Tigers' starting setter. Her 8.59 assists per set mark is the sixth best in a single season in program history and is the highest mark recorded by a Tiger since Mica Allison in 2018.
- Defense has been key to Auburn's early success to begin the season. The Tigers rank fourth in the SEC with a 2.51 blocks/set average. Auburn's digs per set average of 16.15 ranks second in the league. The Tigers also lead the league and rank fourth in all of Division I volleyball by holding opponents to a .118 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
After picking up a pair of wins over Arkansas to open Southeastern Conference play, Tennessee stands on top of the league standings with an unblemished conference record and a 10-2 record overall.
One of the top offenses in the conference, Tennessee currently leads the league in assists pet set (13.32) and kills per set (14.76) while ranking fourth overall in the SEC with a .278 team hitting percentage. Morgahn Fingall leads the team with 148 total kills. She ranks fifth in the league with a 3.89 kills per set average. Fingall also ranks fourth in the league in attacks per set (9.82) and third in points per set (4.71). Breana Runnels does her fair share of damage offensively, ranking 12th in the SEC in both kills (3.55) and points (3.91) per set.
Though the Lady Vols have had the least success at the service line among all SEC squads, Fingall leads the squad with nine total aces to average 0.24 per set.
Natalie Hayward is the starting setter for the Lady Volunteers. She has totaled 452 assists this season, the fifth most in the SEC. She averages 11.02 assists per set to rank second in the league and 13th nationally. Hayward has totaled 44 kills this season on a blistering .412 attack percentage. Defensively, the setter has 31.0 total blocks and 123 digs.
Defensively, Tennessee leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with a 3.15 digs per set average. The Lady Vols have three players ranked in the top 10 in the SEC for blocks per set. Danielle Mahaffey leads the trio with a 1.46 blocks per set mark, which tops the SEC. Mahaffey ranks second in the conference with her team-leading 54.0 blocks. Ava Bell ranks third in the league with a 1.39 blocks/set average.
The Lady Vols enter Wednesday's match with three players totaling over 100 digs for the season. Madison Bryant leads the group with 153, the 12th most total digs by any player in the SEC.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena this weekend for a pair of matches against in-state rival Alabama. The series opens on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. Sunday's finale with air on ESPNU. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT.