VB CENTRAL: Tennessee vs. Missouri

Friday is Second Harvest Night at Thompson-Boling Arena -- gain free admission by donating two non-perishable food items at the door.
The first 100 fans to donate food items will receive a voucher for a free hot dog.
An ugly sweater contest for students will also be held at Friday's match! The winner, who will be selected by the fans during match break, will receive two sideline passes to next weekend's Tennessee vs. Kentucky football game!

Friday's match will be broadcast live online through SEC Network +.
Evan Ellis will be on play-by-play duty for Sunday's broadcast and will be joined by analyst Heather Harrington. Sami Kincaid is the sideline reporter.
To access SEC Network +, click here and log in using your satellite or cable account information. Fans can also follow the match on their mobile devices by downloading the WatchESPN app.

Sunday marks just the seventh meeting all time between the Lady Vols and Tigers, with the latter holding a 4-2 edge in the series that dates back only to 2005. The series is tied 1-1 in matches played in Knoxville. Tennessee has faced Missouri fewer times than any other conference foe.
Sept. 28, 2014: In this season's first meeting, Missouri won its 20th consecutive SEC match when it defeated UT, 3-0, in Columbia. Eight kills from Kendra Turner paced the Lady Vols offensively, while Lexi Dempsey added 11 digs and missed the double-double by just two assists. It was the second consecutive win in the series for Mizzou.
Oct. 11, 2013: No. 25 Missouri improved to 20-0 on its way to clinching the 2013 SEC regular season championship, defeating Tennessee 3-0 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Lexi Dempsey handed out 20 assists to go along with 11 digs to notch her then SEC-leading 12th double-double of the season.
Dec. 10, 2005: The last time the two programs met as non-conference foes Tennessee came away with one of the biggest wins in program history. Exacting some revenge for a defeat at the hands of Mizzou earlier that season, UT topped the eighth ranked Tigers, 3-1, in the Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament. That victory punched the Lady Vols' ticket to their first and only Final Four.

Last week, the Lady Vols dropped two matches to ranked opponents last week, falling 3-0 at the hands of No. 18 Kentucky before suffering another 3-0 setback against No. 8 Florida.
Kendra Turner led Tennesseee in kills in both matches, recording 12 at UK and seven at home against UF. The freshman has now paced UT in kills seven times this season, including in three of the last four matches.
Not far behind Turner in terms of kills produced was sophomore Ashley Mariani. Starting at RS in both matches, Mariani tallied 11 and five kills against Kentucky and Florida, respectively.
Together, Turner and Mariani combined to produce 35 of Tennessee's 53 total kills last week. UT had 32 kills at UK and posted a season-low 21 against Florida.
DS/L Bridgette Villano and RS Kanisha Jimenez are each ranked inside the SEC's top 20 in digs per set. Villano holds the No. 12 spot with a 3.19 digs per set average while Jimenez sits at No. 20, averaging 2.59 scoops per frame.
Junior setter Lexi Dempsey is currently the only Lady Vols to rank inside the SEC top 10 in any statistical category. Dempsey's 8.10 assists per set are good for 10th in the league.
Following Friday's match, which concludes a stretch of three of four matches at home, Tennessee will close the season with four of its last six on the road.

Missouri, the defending SEC champions, currently sit in a tie for seventh in the conference standings entering the final month of regular season play.
On the opening weekend of SEC play, Mizzou topped UT by a 3-0 score line in Columbia. Since then the Tigers are 3-6, including a 3-0 loss at Ole Miss on Oct. 1 that snapped a 20-match SEC winning streak.
Mizzou split a pair of home matches last weekend, sweeping its way past Arkansas before dropping a 3-1 decision to Texas A&M.
The Tigers continue to get stellar play from sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan. The Hawai'i native was last season's SEC Freshman of the Year and is currently the only player in the conference to average 3.0 kills per set as well as 3.0 digs per frame. Kan ranks sixth in the SEC in kps at 3.45 and 13th in dps at 3.08.
Fellow outside hitter Emily Wilson also ranks inside the SEC top 20 in kps at 2.67. The senior Wilson is second among active SEC players with 1,034 career kills.
Missouri is 3-6 in true road games this season, including a 1-5 mark away from home in SEC contests.

Game Notes