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Tennessee volleyball preview: Mississippi State, Alabama close home slate

Tennessee hosts Mississippi State on Friday and Alabama on Senior Day Sunday as the Lady Vols try to snap a two-match skid in their final home matches.

KNOXVILLE, TN - October 21, 2026 - Silhouette of Lady Vol fans during the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. | Peyton Collimore/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee volleyball has two matches left at Food City Center this season, and both come this weekend. Mississippi State visits Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET as the No. 10 Lady Vols try to snap last weekend’s two-match skid. Sunday wraps up the regular-season home slate with Alabama at 2 p.m. ET.

Both contests will serve as 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.

Tennessee (16-5, 7-4 SEC) dropped both road matches last weekend, falling 3-1 at Texas A&M and 3-2 at Missouri. The Lady Vols played both without middle blocker Chelsea Sutton, who was injured in the 3-1 home win over Vanderbilt the week before. That win over the Commodores capped a seven-match SEC winning streak.

Sutton’s absence was noticeable. She ranks third in the SEC at 1.27 blocks per set and is hitting .399 in conference play. Without her in College Station, Texas A&M put up 16 team blocks to Tennessee's 12, and Kaia Castle was in on 12 of them. At Missouri, the Tigers outblocked the Lady Vols 14-7, with Eva Smith in on a match-high six blocks and Kimani Johnson in on five. Sutton’s status for this weekend remains unclear.

KNOXVILLE, TN - October 09, 2026 - Middle blocker Chelsea Sutton #16 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Peyton Collimore/Tennessee Athletics | Peyton Collimore/Tennessee Athle

Tennessee and Mississippi State are tied with Missouri and Texas A&M for fifth in the SEC at 7-4, one game behind Kentucky, Texas and Vanderbilt. Florida sits alone at the top at 10-1.

The Bulldogs (17-5) bring a four-match winning streak to Knoxville, though they are just 2-4 in SEC road matches. Lindsey Mangelson leads the attack with 278 kills, and Bernardita Aguilar adds 210. Junior setter Cayley Hanson runs the offense with a team-high 597 assists.

Where Mississippi State really makes its money is in the back row. The Bulldogs lead the SEC at 15.36 digs per set, and McKenna Yates has 339 digs, second-most in the league.

That will test a Tennessee attack that leads the SEC with 14.45 kills per set and ranks second with a .282 hitting percentage. Kennedi Rogers averages 4.30 kills per set and had 24 in the loss at Texas A&M.

KNOXVILLE, TN - October 25, 2026 - Setter Caroline Kerr #11 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. | Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Sunday doubles as Senior Day, with Nia Hall, Sydney Jaynes, Caroline Kerr and Mackenzie Plante set to be honored before first serve. Kerr went over 4,000 career assists at Missouri and now sits at 4,046, the most among active SEC players.

Alabama (9-11, 1-10) has lost six straight and owns one SEC win, a 3-1 home victory over South Carolina on Oct. 9. Five of its 10 conference losses have gone five sets.

Laney Hennessee leads the Crimson Tide with 245 kills and 3.14 kills per set. Setter Hannah Parant leads the team with 719 assists and 39 aces, which ties her for the SEC lead after she topped the conference with 52 last season. Libero Dionii Fraga has 216 digs and has reached double figures in 11 matches, while Lily Gervase leads Alabama at the net with 69 blocks.

Tennessee is 9-1 at home this season, with the only loss coming in five sets to Texas on Sept. 25. A weekend sweep would send them out of Food City Center with some momentum and push the Lady Vols to 9-4 in league play heading into the final stretch.

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