VB CENTRAL: Tennessee at Auburn

Sunday's match will be broadcast live online through SEC Network +.
Ben Taylor will be on play-by-play duty for Sunday's broadcast and will be joined by analyst Kathia Rud.
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 is the 46th meeting between Tennessee and Auburn in a series that dates back to 1973. UT leads the series 29-15-1, a record that includes an 11-9 mark in matches played in Auburn. The Tigers claimed both meetings last season, snapping what had been a five-match winning streak against AU. Lady Vol head coach Rob Patrick is 21-6 in his 17-year career against Auburn.
Nov. 22, 2013: The last meeting between the two programs, Auburn topped the Lady Vols in three sets in the 2013 season's penultimate weekend. Jamie Lea, Raina Hembry, and Ashley Mariani each had five kills to lead UT while Ellen Mullins scooped 17 digs.
Nov. 1, 2013: Auburn snapped a five-match losing streak to Tennessee with a 3-0 win in Knoxville. Ashley Mariani had a team-high eight kills in the match while Ellen Mullins' 14 digs moved her inside the SEC's top 10 list for career digs. She went on to finish her career with the fifth-most digs in SEC history (1,801).
Nov. 16, 2012: Leslie Cikra tallied 20 kills as Tennessee rallied to beat Auburn in five sets at Thompson-Boling Arena. The victory gave UT 20 wins in the 2012 season, its 21st 20-win season in program history and 10th under head coach Rob Patrick. UT won the final two sets, including a 15-6 decision in the fifth set, to bounce back from a marathon 31-29 loss in the third set to claim the match.

The Lady Vols have dropped three consecutive SEC matches, including a 3-1 decision at the hands of Missouri on Sunday night.
Kendra Turner and Ashley Mariani continued their recent run of production against Mizzou, combining for 41 of Tennessee's 55 kills on the evening.
Turner led the Lady Vols in kills for the fourth time in the last five matches, posting a career-high 23 on Friday night. It was the first 20+ kill performance of the season for UT.
Meanwhile, Mariani came away with her first double-double of the year after putting down 18 kills to go along with 13 digs. Her 18 kills, also a new career-high, came on a strong hitting clip of .308.
Together, Turner and Mariani have combined to produce 76 of Tennessee's 108 kills over the last three matches. The duo provided 35 of UT's 53 total kills last week against Kentucky and Florida.
Middle blockers Iesha Bryant and Raina Hembry each rank inside the SEC's top 20 in blocks per set. After posting six blocks against Mizzou on Friday night, Bryant now ranks seventh in the conference at 1.03 stuffs per frame. Hembry, who tallied three in her latest action, sits in 17th at 0.93 blocks per set.
Setter Lexi Dempsey joins middle blocker Iesha Bryant as the only Lady Vols to rank inside the SEC top 10 in any statistical category. Dempsey's 8.25 assists per set are good for 10th in the league. She finished with a season-high 46 assists against Missouri.

The Tigers have dropped their last two matches since beating Mississippi State, 3-1, on Oct. 3-1. Most recently, AU dropped a 3-0 decision to Arkansas on Friday night.
The match against the Razorbacks was played in front of the largest volleyball crowd in program history as 2,474 fans were present at Auburn Arena.
Freshman setter Alexa Filley finished the match with 28 assists, giving her an even 900 on the season. That figure is the best of any freshman in program history and is the second-most by an AU setter in a single season.
Filley is seventh in the SEC in assists per set at 10.11.
Auburn is 6-6 at home this season, but just 1-5 in SEC matches.
Auburn is in its fourth season under the tutelage of head coacoh Rick Nold. Nold and UT head coach Rob Patrick have met seven times with six of those coming in the Tennessee-Auburn series. The two met for the first time in 2005 at the NCAA Tournament when Patrick's 17th ranked Lady Vol team topped Nold's Jacksonville State squad in the opening round.

Game Notes