Sept. 24, 2014

TENNESSEE (7-7)
ROSTER | STATS | SCHEDULE | NOTES | TWITTER

ARKANSAS (6-7)
ROSTER | STATS | SCHEDULE | NOTES | TWITTER

September 26, 2014 | 8 p.m. ET

Barnhill Arena | Fayetteville, Ark.

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WK5

Friday's match will be broadcast live on SEC Network +.
Alex Perlman will be on play-by-play duty for the Arkansas-based broadcast team.
To access SEC Network +, click the link above and log in through your cable or internet provider.

In one of the most tightly contested series in Tennessee's history, the Lady Vols own a slight 17-16 edge all-time over Arkansas. UT has won 10 of the last 12 meetings and has fared better on the road in the series, owning an 8-6 record in Fayetteville.
Oct. 13, 2013: The Razorbacks topped the Lady Vols 3-1 in Knoxville. UT won the first set going away at 25-13, but Arkansas responded with three consecutive wins to pull out the road win. Shealyn Kolosky had 11 kills and Lexi Dempsey tallied 40 assists.
Oct. 14, 2012: Tennessee swept its way past Arkansas at Barnhill Arena. The SEC victory was the fourth in a row for a Tennessee squad that would finish the year with its fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Sept. 21, 2012: Arkansas needed four sets to spoil the SEC home opener for a Tennessee squad ranked 21st in the country.

Tennessee is riding a modest two-match winning streak into the SEC season opener. UT capped its own DISH Lady Vol Classic by gritting out a 3-2 win over Mercer before sweeping Montana State 3-0 in the finale.
Freshman Kelsey Bawcombe was named to the DISH Lady Vol Classic All-Tournament team after posting 35 kills, 31 digs, and 10 blocks over four matches on the weekend. She recorded her first career double-double against Mercer, tallying a career-best 17 kills to go along with 15 digs.
Under head coach Rob Patrick, Tennessee is 9-8 in SEC openers. The Lady Vols are 2-4 when starting league play on the road.
The last time Tennessee opened SEC play with a road win was Sept. 23, 2005 -- a 3-0 victory at Arkansas.
The starting lineup in three of UT's four matches last season featured no fewer than four freshmen. Those freshmen accounted for 75 percent of the team's total attacks and total kills on the weekend. Rookie middle blocker Iesha Bryant is the only player on the UT roster to have started all 14 matches.
Junior setter Lexi Dempsey, who finished third in the SEC in double-doubles a year ago, is currently sixth in the conference with four. She accomplished the feat twice last weekend, posting double-doubles against both Mercer and Montana State.
As a team, Tennessee ranks fifth in the SEC in digs per set at 14.88. Libero Bridgette Villano paces the Lady Vols with 3.57 digs per frame.

The Razorbacks enter the weekend coming off a 3-1 loss at the hands of No. 23 Kansas at the Jayhawk Classic. Arkansas had opened the weekend with wins over Cleveland State and North Texas prior to the loss.
Arkansas has won three of its last four following a five-match losing streak in early September.
As a team, the Razorbacks top the SEC and are ranked ninth in the nation in total blocks at 138.5. Leading that effort is sophomore Ana Sofia Jusino. The Puerto Rico native is averaging 1.38 blocks per set -- good for fifth in the SEC and 29th in the NCAA. She had 10 blocks against North Texas last weekend.
Senior Meredith Hays leads the SEC in kills per set at 4.33. That figure is also good for 20th nationally. The New Mexico State transfer was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selection last season.
Head coach Robert Pulliza is in his seventh season with Arkansas. He owns a 96-102 and has taken the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament in each of hte last two seasons. Pulliza played college volleyball at Ball State and is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

VB Central: Tennessee at Arkansas

Game Notes