University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, November 6
Knoxville, Tenn.
6:30 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
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Mississippi State
November 05, 2026 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 10 Tennessee returns to Food City Center for its final home matches of the regular season, as it hosts Mississippi State and Alabama. The contest against Mississippi State is slated for a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Friday, with first serve against Alabama scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. Both contests will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Both weekend outings will be the team's Salute to Service matches, presented by Standard Nuclear. Current military members and veterans who present their Military ID or DD214 at the gates upon entry will receive complimentary admission for themselves and immediate family members
Sunday's match against Alabama will also serve as the team's Senior Day. Nia Hall, Sydney Jaynes, Caroline Kerr and Mackenzie Plante will be honored in a special ceremony prior to first serve.
Fans planning to attend the match should follow Tennessee's clear bag policy. Parking is available free of charge to fans in the G-5/G-30 garage. Gates B and E will serve as entrances for all general fans and player guests, while students will be directed to Gate A. Any additional items to know before coming out for any of the matches can be found on the Volleyball Gameday Page.
This marks the 72nd all-time meeting between Tennessee and Mississippi State. The teams met in Starkville, Mississippi, last season, with Tennessee earning a four-set victory. The Lady Vols and Alabama matchup for the 66th time in the series. Both teams battled in Tuscaloosa last year, with UT getting the road win.
Tennessee returns home following a five-set road loss to Missouri. Three Lady Vols recorded double-doubles, led by Caroline Kerr, who tallied 51 assists and a career-high 20 digs. Senior opposite Jalyn Stout had 15 kills and 12 digs, while Maggie Dostic finished with 12 kills and 10 digs of her own. Kennedi Rogers led the team offensively with 20 kills in the match, her fourth match with 20-plus kills this season. Raegan Burns recorded 19 digs in the loss, while Jolene Oddo paced Tennessee in blocks with five.
Mississippi State comes into the weekend with a 17-5 record and sitting at 7-4 in the SEC. The Bulldogs extended their unbeaten run to four after wins over Ole Miss and Alabama last week. The Mississippi State attack is led by Lindsey Mangelson and Bernardita Aguilar with 278 and 210 kills respectively. Cayley Hanson supports the offense, as the junior setter leads the team with 597 assists. McKenna Yates leads from the back row with 339 digs, the second-most in the SEC. Yates also ranks third in the SEC in digs per set at 4.40. As a unit, the Bulldogs have the top floor defense in the conference, averaging 15.36 digs per set. Noella Obi paces the team in both blocks (76) and blocks per set (1.03) in 2026.
Alabama comes to Rocky Top with a 9-11 record overall. Laney Hennessee leads the Crimson Tide offense with 245 kills and 3.14 kills per set. Hannah Parent leads the team in assists (719) and aces (39) this season. Parent is tied for the lead in the SEC in aces and led the conference from the service line last season with 52. On defense, libero Dionii Fraga leads the Tide in digs at 216, and has recorded double-figures in 11 matches. Lily Gervase leads Alabama at the net with 69 blocks and 0.93 blocks per set.
Fifth-year setter Caroline Kerr added to her storied career last week as she reached 4,000 career assists. Kerr became the fourth Lady Vol in program history to reach the career threshold and currently ranks fourth in all-time with 4,046 assists. This season, Kerr has 787 assists, while ranking ninth in Division I at 10.78 assists per set. A three-time AVCA All-American, Kerr is only the second Lady Vol athlete to accomplish that feat, with Nikki Fowler doing so from 2008-10.
The Big Orange offense continues to be one of the top offenses in the nation under head coach Eve Rackham Watt. This year, the Lady Vols lead the country in kills per set at 14.45 and rank tenth in hitting percentage at .282. In eight seasons under Rackham Watt, UT has ranked in the top 20 in either kills per set or hitting percentage in five seasons. In 2025, Tennessee finished top 15 in both hitting percentage (.292, 10th) and kills per set (14.27, 11th). Rogers leads the attack in her first year on Rocky Top, as the sophomore outside hitter has 288 kills and leads the unit with a 4.30 kills per set average that is sixth in the conference. Chelsea Sutton and Jalyn Stout each sit top ten in the conference in hitting percentage, with Sutton sixth at .376 and Stout tenth at .333.
Tennessee's defense has been key to the team's success this campaign. The Lady Vols are holding opposing offenses to a .195 hitting percentage, tied for the third lowest in the SEC. The team is averaging 13.93 digs per set and 2.39 blocks per set, with that block per set total ranking sixth in the SEC. Six players have 30 or more blocks this season. Sutton leads the group with 70 blocks and 1.27 blocks per set. Her block per set average is one of the top in the conference, with the junior middle blocker ranking second. Raegan Burns has keyed the floor defense. The libero has 230 digs and averages 3.15 digs per set. Burns has led the team in digs in 12 matches, logging a season-high 23 digs against Arkansas and reaching double figures 11 times.
Both weekend outings will be the team's Salute to Service matches, presented by Standard Nuclear. Current military members and veterans who present their Military ID or DD214 at the gates upon entry will receive complimentary admission for themselves and immediate family members
Sunday's match against Alabama will also serve as the team's Senior Day. Nia Hall, Sydney Jaynes, Caroline Kerr and Mackenzie Plante will be honored in a special ceremony prior to first serve.
Fans planning to attend the match should follow Tennessee's clear bag policy. Parking is available free of charge to fans in the G-5/G-30 garage. Gates B and E will serve as entrances for all general fans and player guests, while students will be directed to Gate A. Any additional items to know before coming out for any of the matches can be found on the Volleyball Gameday Page.
This marks the 72nd all-time meeting between Tennessee and Mississippi State. The teams met in Starkville, Mississippi, last season, with Tennessee earning a four-set victory. The Lady Vols and Alabama matchup for the 66th time in the series. Both teams battled in Tuscaloosa last year, with UT getting the road win.
Tennessee returns home following a five-set road loss to Missouri. Three Lady Vols recorded double-doubles, led by Caroline Kerr, who tallied 51 assists and a career-high 20 digs. Senior opposite Jalyn Stout had 15 kills and 12 digs, while Maggie Dostic finished with 12 kills and 10 digs of her own. Kennedi Rogers led the team offensively with 20 kills in the match, her fourth match with 20-plus kills this season. Raegan Burns recorded 19 digs in the loss, while Jolene Oddo paced Tennessee in blocks with five.
Mississippi State comes into the weekend with a 17-5 record and sitting at 7-4 in the SEC. The Bulldogs extended their unbeaten run to four after wins over Ole Miss and Alabama last week. The Mississippi State attack is led by Lindsey Mangelson and Bernardita Aguilar with 278 and 210 kills respectively. Cayley Hanson supports the offense, as the junior setter leads the team with 597 assists. McKenna Yates leads from the back row with 339 digs, the second-most in the SEC. Yates also ranks third in the SEC in digs per set at 4.40. As a unit, the Bulldogs have the top floor defense in the conference, averaging 15.36 digs per set. Noella Obi paces the team in both blocks (76) and blocks per set (1.03) in 2026.
Alabama comes to Rocky Top with a 9-11 record overall. Laney Hennessee leads the Crimson Tide offense with 245 kills and 3.14 kills per set. Hannah Parent leads the team in assists (719) and aces (39) this season. Parent is tied for the lead in the SEC in aces and led the conference from the service line last season with 52. On defense, libero Dionii Fraga leads the Tide in digs at 216, and has recorded double-figures in 11 matches. Lily Gervase leads Alabama at the net with 69 blocks and 0.93 blocks per set.
Fifth-year setter Caroline Kerr added to her storied career last week as she reached 4,000 career assists. Kerr became the fourth Lady Vol in program history to reach the career threshold and currently ranks fourth in all-time with 4,046 assists. This season, Kerr has 787 assists, while ranking ninth in Division I at 10.78 assists per set. A three-time AVCA All-American, Kerr is only the second Lady Vol athlete to accomplish that feat, with Nikki Fowler doing so from 2008-10.
The Big Orange offense continues to be one of the top offenses in the nation under head coach Eve Rackham Watt. This year, the Lady Vols lead the country in kills per set at 14.45 and rank tenth in hitting percentage at .282. In eight seasons under Rackham Watt, UT has ranked in the top 20 in either kills per set or hitting percentage in five seasons. In 2025, Tennessee finished top 15 in both hitting percentage (.292, 10th) and kills per set (14.27, 11th). Rogers leads the attack in her first year on Rocky Top, as the sophomore outside hitter has 288 kills and leads the unit with a 4.30 kills per set average that is sixth in the conference. Chelsea Sutton and Jalyn Stout each sit top ten in the conference in hitting percentage, with Sutton sixth at .376 and Stout tenth at .333.
Tennessee's defense has been key to the team's success this campaign. The Lady Vols are holding opposing offenses to a .195 hitting percentage, tied for the third lowest in the SEC. The team is averaging 13.93 digs per set and 2.39 blocks per set, with that block per set total ranking sixth in the SEC. Six players have 30 or more blocks this season. Sutton leads the group with 70 blocks and 1.27 blocks per set. Her block per set average is one of the top in the conference, with the junior middle blocker ranking second. Raegan Burns has keyed the floor defense. The libero has 230 digs and averages 3.15 digs per set. Burns has led the team in digs in 12 matches, logging a season-high 23 digs against Arkansas and reaching double figures 11 times.
Players Mentioned
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