Volleyball Preview: Tennessee Opens Season at No. 3 Kentucky

Friday, October 16

Lexington, KY

7 P.M.

University of Tennessee

Kentucky

Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Volleyball Preview: Tennessee Opens Season at No. 3 Kentucky

October 15, 2020 | Volleyball

Notes SEC Network (Friday)Live Stats SEC Network+ (Saturday)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After an 11 month layoff and a delayed start to the season, Lady Vol volleyball is back with a season-opening road trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to faceoff with the third-ranked Wildcats.

The Lady Vols and Wildcats will play twice this weekend, beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. The second match will be played Saturday at 7 p.m.

Friday's match will be televised on SEC Network, while Saturday's meeting will air on SEC Network+.

NEW NORMAL: Tennessee and the rest of the SEC will be competing in an abbreviated six-week, eight-match conference only schedule. Teams will play one another on back-to-back nights.

The start date and format for the 2020 volleyball season allows the 13 teams the ability to monitor developments related to COVID-19.

LATE OPENER: Friday's opener falls on Oct. 16, which will be the latest start to a season for the Tennessee volleyball program since at least 1975. The '75 season began on Oct. 10 against Eastern Kentucky.

FIRST TIME: As well as being the latest opener since 1975, Friday's match against Kentucky will be the first time in school history the Lady Vols have opened a season against an SEC opponent.

FRESH FACES: The Lady Vols have been bolstered by the arrival of six newcomers. Freshmen outside hitter Jasmine Brooks and setter/defensive specialist Kya Moore are joined by transfers Carissa Bradford (OH), Nicoletta Capizzi (MB), setter Natalie Hayward and defensive specialist Gabby Morris.

Brooks was ranked by Prep Volleyball as the No. 43-ranked recruit in the nation, the highest rated recruit to commit to Tennessee since 2013.

Hayward spent the first two years of her collegiate career in the Big East with DePaul and arrived on Rocky Top in January. The 5-11 setter ranked 10th in the Big East last season with 666 assists, averaging just under six assists per set.

A testament to her impact, Hayward was voted a team captain by her teammates.

CHASING HISTORY: Senior libero Madison Coulter has the chance to write her name into the Tennessee record books this weekend and season as she needs just nine digs to reach 1,000 for her career. The Maryville, Tennessee native will become the 17th player in school history to reach the 1,000 digs milestone.

Coulter currently sits seventh all-time in Tennessee history in digs per set average at 3.26 after a career-year last season when she averaged 3.97 digs per set. Another strong season of production on the defensive end could see Coulter rise higher on both lists.

SERIES HISTORY: Kentucky holds a 51-30 lead in the all-time series with Tennessee. The Wildcats have won the last four meetings between the two teams and the Lady Vols' last win at Kentucky was a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 24, 2010.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY: Head coach Craig Skinner led Kentucky to a 25-7 (16-2 SEC) record and a share of the conference title a year ago, with the Wildcats also reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky was picked by the league coaches as the preseason favorite for the 2020 SEC volleyball season. Gabby Curry, Madison Lilley and Alli Stumler were tabbed for the league's preseason team.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will return home to Thompson-Boling Arena on Oct. 28 and 29 to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. First serve for both matches is 7 p.m. ET.