University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, October 24
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
7 p.m. ET
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at
Alabama
Weekend Preview: #16 Lady Vols Hit the Road To Face Alabama & Mississippi State
October 23, 2025 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The #16 Tennessee volleyball program heads back out on the road in conference play, taking on Alabama and Mississippi State this weekend. The Lady Vols will take on Alabama on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. ET before closing out the weekend in Starkville on Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available on SEC Network+.
Tennessee enters after a home sweep over Auburn back on Oct. 19. Hayden Kubik continued her strong senior campaign, notching a team-leading 17 kills to put her over the 200-mark on the season. Chelsea Sutton followed closely behind with 15 kills on an impressive .667 hitting percentage, adding three blocks in the contest. Zoë Humphrey led the way at the net for Tennessee, with five blocks on the afternoon. Caroline Kerr picked up 41 assists at a 13.7 assist per set clip, good for her fourth 40-plus assist performance of the year and 31st of her career. Gülce Güçtekin led the way from the back row, with the senior libero leading the team with 10 digs, to go along with two aces and five assists.
Alabama enters the weekend off a road victory against South Carolina, with a record of 10-8 (2-6 SEC). The Crimson Tide are led in kills by Victoria Barrett, with 231at 3.55 kills per set. They enter as the top service team in the SEC, with their 1.85 aces per set leading the conference and 120 aces ranking second. Leading the charge from the service line is Hannah Parant. The redshirt freshman setter leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with 0.62 aces per set and 40 total on the season. Parant is also a key force in the Crimson Tide attack, sitting eighth in the conference with 570 assists. Leading the defense is Trinity Stanger with 3.94 digs per set and 256 digs, both sitting sixth and seventh in the SEC respectively. Tennessee lead the all-time series with Alabama with a 44-20 record, winning last season's five-set thriller in Knoxville back on Sept. 25, 2024.
Mississippi State enters with a 14-4 record overall and 4-4 in SEC after splitting a pair of road matches last week against South Carolina and Georgia. Cayley Hanson helps lead a Bulldogs offense that ranks fifth in the conference in both kills per set (13.67) and hitting percentage (.261). The sophomore setter is fourth in the nation in assists per set at 11.02, entering the weekend with 673 total. One of the top block defense teams in the SEC, Mississippi State ranks third with 2.61 blocks per set. Leading the charge at the net are the duo of Noella Obi and Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss, both ranking in the top-10 of the conference with 1.40 and 1.25 blocks per set. Defensive specialist McKenna Yates has also been a key defensive piece for the Bulldogs with 262 digs. Her 4.09 digs per set mark ranks third in the SEC this season. Leading the team in kills is Lindsey Mangleson with 263, with her 4.46 kills per set fourth in the conference and 21st in Division I. The Lady Vols hold the advantage in the series with the Bulldogs with a record of 56-14, including a win in Starkville last season.
The Tennessee offense has been producing at a high level this season. One of the top offensive teams in the nation, The Lady Vols enter the week with a .310 hitting percentage, leading the SEC and ranking third in Division I. The production has come from multiple sources this season, with four players over the 100-kill mark. Leading the team in kills is Hayden Kubik, coming in with 207 on the season. The senior hitter has 10 or more kills in 13 contests. Paityn Chapman follows with 151 kills, including nine matches with double-digit kills. Rounding out the quartet for the Lady Vols is Chelsea Sutton at 132 kills and Mackenzie Plante at 103. Four players have a hitting percentage over .300. Chelsea Sutton leads the team at .429, the second-best percentage in the conference. Paityn Chapman follows Sutton, with the sophomore opposite hitter entering the week at a .323-clip.
The Lady Vol defense has been key to the team's success in 2025. Tennessee is holding opponents to a .175 hitting percentage, ranking third in the SEC. Tennessee's block defense has been impressive all season. The Lady Vols rank seventh in the conference in blocks per set at 2.53. Leading the team in blocks in Chelsea Sutton at 71, followed by redshirt freshman Zoë Humphrey at 58. The Lady Vols floor defense has been strong as well. As a team Tennessee has 792 digs, averaging 13.20 digs per set. Leading the team is Gülce Güçtekin with 3.75 digs per set and 225 digs, ranking eighth and ninth in the conference respectively.
In her redshirt junior campaign at Tennessee, Caroline Kerr is continuing the play that has made her a two-time all-American. Kerr leads the team with 531 assists, averaging 9.32 assists per set. The setter is helping lead an offense that is third in the nation in hitting percentage at .310 and top 20 in kills per set at 14.10. Kerr has 2,845 assists in her career, the tenth-most in program history. Kerr also ranks in the top 10 in assists per set, with her 10.66 total sitting seventh all-time. Kerr has tallied 30 or more assists in ten matches, including tying her career-high with 57 assists against Florida. That marked her 11th career match with 50 or more assists. Kerr also notched a double-double in the match, adding 15 digs.
Tennessee enters after a home sweep over Auburn back on Oct. 19. Hayden Kubik continued her strong senior campaign, notching a team-leading 17 kills to put her over the 200-mark on the season. Chelsea Sutton followed closely behind with 15 kills on an impressive .667 hitting percentage, adding three blocks in the contest. Zoë Humphrey led the way at the net for Tennessee, with five blocks on the afternoon. Caroline Kerr picked up 41 assists at a 13.7 assist per set clip, good for her fourth 40-plus assist performance of the year and 31st of her career. Gülce Güçtekin led the way from the back row, with the senior libero leading the team with 10 digs, to go along with two aces and five assists.
Alabama enters the weekend off a road victory against South Carolina, with a record of 10-8 (2-6 SEC). The Crimson Tide are led in kills by Victoria Barrett, with 231at 3.55 kills per set. They enter as the top service team in the SEC, with their 1.85 aces per set leading the conference and 120 aces ranking second. Leading the charge from the service line is Hannah Parant. The redshirt freshman setter leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with 0.62 aces per set and 40 total on the season. Parant is also a key force in the Crimson Tide attack, sitting eighth in the conference with 570 assists. Leading the defense is Trinity Stanger with 3.94 digs per set and 256 digs, both sitting sixth and seventh in the SEC respectively. Tennessee lead the all-time series with Alabama with a 44-20 record, winning last season's five-set thriller in Knoxville back on Sept. 25, 2024.
Mississippi State enters with a 14-4 record overall and 4-4 in SEC after splitting a pair of road matches last week against South Carolina and Georgia. Cayley Hanson helps lead a Bulldogs offense that ranks fifth in the conference in both kills per set (13.67) and hitting percentage (.261). The sophomore setter is fourth in the nation in assists per set at 11.02, entering the weekend with 673 total. One of the top block defense teams in the SEC, Mississippi State ranks third with 2.61 blocks per set. Leading the charge at the net are the duo of Noella Obi and Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss, both ranking in the top-10 of the conference with 1.40 and 1.25 blocks per set. Defensive specialist McKenna Yates has also been a key defensive piece for the Bulldogs with 262 digs. Her 4.09 digs per set mark ranks third in the SEC this season. Leading the team in kills is Lindsey Mangleson with 263, with her 4.46 kills per set fourth in the conference and 21st in Division I. The Lady Vols hold the advantage in the series with the Bulldogs with a record of 56-14, including a win in Starkville last season.
The Tennessee offense has been producing at a high level this season. One of the top offensive teams in the nation, The Lady Vols enter the week with a .310 hitting percentage, leading the SEC and ranking third in Division I. The production has come from multiple sources this season, with four players over the 100-kill mark. Leading the team in kills is Hayden Kubik, coming in with 207 on the season. The senior hitter has 10 or more kills in 13 contests. Paityn Chapman follows with 151 kills, including nine matches with double-digit kills. Rounding out the quartet for the Lady Vols is Chelsea Sutton at 132 kills and Mackenzie Plante at 103. Four players have a hitting percentage over .300. Chelsea Sutton leads the team at .429, the second-best percentage in the conference. Paityn Chapman follows Sutton, with the sophomore opposite hitter entering the week at a .323-clip.
The Lady Vol defense has been key to the team's success in 2025. Tennessee is holding opponents to a .175 hitting percentage, ranking third in the SEC. Tennessee's block defense has been impressive all season. The Lady Vols rank seventh in the conference in blocks per set at 2.53. Leading the team in blocks in Chelsea Sutton at 71, followed by redshirt freshman Zoë Humphrey at 58. The Lady Vols floor defense has been strong as well. As a team Tennessee has 792 digs, averaging 13.20 digs per set. Leading the team is Gülce Güçtekin with 3.75 digs per set and 225 digs, ranking eighth and ninth in the conference respectively.
In her redshirt junior campaign at Tennessee, Caroline Kerr is continuing the play that has made her a two-time all-American. Kerr leads the team with 531 assists, averaging 9.32 assists per set. The setter is helping lead an offense that is third in the nation in hitting percentage at .310 and top 20 in kills per set at 14.10. Kerr has 2,845 assists in her career, the tenth-most in program history. Kerr also ranks in the top 10 in assists per set, with her 10.66 total sitting seventh all-time. Kerr has tallied 30 or more assists in ten matches, including tying her career-high with 57 assists against Florida. That marked her 11th career match with 50 or more assists. Kerr also notched a double-double in the match, adding 15 digs.
Players Mentioned
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