Oct. 14, 2014

TENNESSEE (7-13, 0-6 SEC)
ROSTER | STATS | SCHEDULE | NOTES | TWITTER

MISSISSIPPI ST. (5-16, 0-6 SEC)
ROSTER | STATS | SCHEDULE | NOTES | TWITTER

October 17, 2014 | 8 p.m. ET

Newell-Grissom Building | Starkville, Miss.

ONLINE: LIVE STATS | TWITTER

WK8

Friday's match will not feature a television or live, streaming broadcast. Fans can follow the action through the live stats or Twitter link above.

Friday marks the 53rd meeting all-time between Tennessee and MSU in a series that dates back to 1976. Tennessee leads the series 43-9, which includes a 17-3 mark in Starkville. UT dropped both of its matches against MSU last season, snapping a 10-match winning streak against the Bulldogs that dated back to 2008.
Nov. 30, 2013: The last meeting between the two programs brought a close to the 2013 season. The Bulldogs claimed the season sweep and their first win in Knoxville since 1995 with a 3-1 win as the TBA crowd bade farewell to then-seniors Ellen Mullins and Whitney Heeres.
Oct. 20, 2013: Lexi Dempsey recorded her then SEC-leading 13th double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs, but UT fell in Starkville by a 3-0 score line.
Nov. 23, 2012: The Lady Vols closed out the 2012 season with a sweep of Mississippi State in Knoxville to grab its tenth straight win in the series. As a team, UT swung .368 behind 14 kills from DeeDee Harrison while limiting the Bulldogs to an attack percentage of just .061.

The Lady Vols will look to snap a six-match losing streak at Mississippi State on Friday night. The Lady Vols fell 3-0 to LSU in their last time out.
Jamie Lea led the team in kills last weekend with eight in each match. She continues to lead the squad in total kills with 154 and her team-high 2.70 kills per set rank 18th in the SEC.
In the first set of Friday's match vs. No. 13 Kentucky junior setter Lexi Dempsey delivered the 1,500th assist of her short career on Rocky Top. With 1,520 to her name, Dempsey is now just 11 shy of passing Allison Stricklin for the eighth spot on UT's all-time assists list.
Setter Lexi Dempsey finished the match with 14 assists, giving her 1,509 for her career. The junior is now just 22 helpers shy of taking sole possession of eighth place on the all-time assists list at UT.
Friday's match in Starkville is a homecoming of sorts for Tennessee assistant coach Rachel Cooper. A native of Roscoe, Ill., Cooper played four seasons for the Bulldogs, was a two-time team captain, and finished her career ranked third all-time in MSU history in total kills (1,405).
UT's 43 wins over Mississippi State are the most for the program over any one SEC opponent.

Last week, MSU went 0-2 with a pair of road losses at LSU and Magnolia State rival Ole Miss. Both matches finished with identical 3-0 score lines.
Unlike last season when UT and MSU met in a home-and-home season series, Friday marks the only meeting of the 2014 season between the Lady Vols and Bulldogs. Tennessee owns a 17-3 record all-time in Starkville.
One major story coming out of the MSU camp this season has centered around the work of freshman libero Payton Harris. The Houston native currently leads the nation in both total digs (506) and d/s (6.84).
Harris set a single-match SEC record for digs earlier this season when she turned in 59 digs against Northwestern State, falling just three shy of the NCAA record.
Behind Harris' efforts, the Bulldogs lead the SEC and rank 24th nationally in team digs per set at 16.61. and 30th in total digs at 1,229.
Mississippi State is 3-7 this season in matches played at the Newell-Grissom Building. The Bulldogs are 2-3 in neutral settings and have yet to earn a true road victory this season.

VB CENTRAL: at Mississippi State

Game Notes