University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, October 31
Knoxville
6:30 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
vs
Missouri
Weekend Preview: #16 Lady Vols Prepare for Home Matches Against Missouri & #9 Texas A&M
October 30, 2025 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The #16 Tennessee volleyball program gets back in action at Food City Center this weekend. The Lady Vols get started on Friday, hosting Missouri in SEC play. The match will start at 6:30 p.m. and stream on SEC Network+. The team will close out the weekend on Sunday against #9 Texas A&M, with the match scheduled for 3 p.m. and televised nationally on ESPN2.
Doors will open one hour before the match, and fans can purchase tickets on AllVols.com. Parking is available on the top level of G-5/G-30 garage located at the corner of Lake Loudoun and Phillip Fulmer Way, directly across the street from the arena. Gate B will be the entrance for general fans, while students and player guests are encouraged to use Gate C. The clear bag policy is in effect for the match. Additional items to know before coming out for a competition can be found on the Volleyball Gameday Page.
Tennessee enters after picking up its fifth road win of the season in a four set victory over Mississippi State. Starr Williams and Hayden Kubik led the way on offense, with the duo finishing with 16 and 14 kills respectively. Kubik now has fifteen matches with double figure kills this season, and is on a current streak of nine consecutive matches. Caroline Kerr helped the team to a .311 hurting percentage, finishing with 41 assists. Kerr also had a strong performance on serves, netting a season-high four in the contest. Gülce Güçtekin led from the back row with 20 digs, adding three assists and one ace.
Missouri enters the week on a six-game win streak, extending the streak in a victory over Georgia. The Tigers are led in kills by Caylen Alexander, whose 325 kills is the third-most in the SEC. Alexander ranks in the top 10 in multiple stats in the SEC, including points per set (4.78, sixth) and kills per set (4.17, seventh). Missouri leads the conference in assists 1,037, with setter Marina Crownover third in the conference with 325 on the season. Maya Sands leads the conference and ranks top 20 nationally with 4.86 digs per set. Sands also leads the conference in digs this season with 408. The Tigers are one of the top block defense teams in the conference, entering the weekend third in blocks per set with 2.57.
#9 Texas A&M enters the week on a win streak of its own, with five straight victories. The Aggies last earned their 11th sweep of the season in a road win against Ole Miss. The Aggies are one of the top defense teams in the country, holding opponents to a .161 hitting percentage. Ifenna Cos-Okpala is one of the top blockers in the country, ranking seventh in the nation with 1.56 blocks per set and 13th in total blocks with 109. Cos-Okpala has also been one of the most efficient hitters in the conference as well, ranking third in the league with a .398 hitting percentage. One of the top setters in the country, Maddie Waak comes into the week leading the country with 11.57 assists per set. Waak also ranks in the top 25 in Division I in assists this season with 810. Texas A&M are led in kills by Logan Lednicky with 270 and Kyndal Stowers with 199.
Tennessee's offense continues to produce at a high level this season. The Lady Vols enter the week with a .307 hitting percentage, second-best in the SEC and ranked fourth in Division I. The production has come from multiple sources this season, with four players over the 100-kill mark. Leading the team in kills is Hayden Kubik, coming in with 239 on the season. The senior hitter has 10 or more kills in 15 contests. Paityn Chapman follows with 154 kills, including nine matches with double-digit kills. Rounding out the quartet for the Lady Vols is Chelsea Sutton at 148 kills and Mackenzie Plante at 126. Four players have a hitting percentage over .300. Chelsea Sutton leads the team at .422, the second-best percentage in the conference. Paityn Chapman follows Sutton, with the sophomore opposite hitter entering the week at a .312-clip.
The Big Orange defense has been key to the team's success in 2025. Tennessee is holding opponents to a .178 hitting percentage, ranking third in the SEC. Tennessee's block defense has been impressive all season. The Lady Vols rank seventh in the conference in blocks per set at 2.46. Leading the team in blocks in Chelsea Sutton at 78, followed by redshirt freshman Zoë Humphrey at 63. The Lady Vols floor defense has been strong as well. As a team Tennessee has 914 digs, averaging 13.44 digs per set. Leading the team is Gülce Güçtekin with 3.82 digs per set and 260 digs, both marks ranking eighth in the conference respectively.
Caroline Kerr leads the team with 613 assists, averaging 9.32 assists per set. The setter is helping lead an offense that is fourth in the nation in hitting percentage at .307 and top 20 in kills per set at 14.13. Kerr has 2,927 assists in her career, the ninth-most in program history. Kerr also ranks in the top 10 in assists per set, with her 10.65 total sitting sixth all-time. Kerr has tallied 30 or more assists in 12 matches, including tying her career-high with 57 assists against Florida. That marked her 11th career match with 50 or more assists. Kerr also notched a double-double in the match, adding 15 digs.
Doors will open one hour before the match, and fans can purchase tickets on AllVols.com. Parking is available on the top level of G-5/G-30 garage located at the corner of Lake Loudoun and Phillip Fulmer Way, directly across the street from the arena. Gate B will be the entrance for general fans, while students and player guests are encouraged to use Gate C. The clear bag policy is in effect for the match. Additional items to know before coming out for a competition can be found on the Volleyball Gameday Page.
Tennessee enters after picking up its fifth road win of the season in a four set victory over Mississippi State. Starr Williams and Hayden Kubik led the way on offense, with the duo finishing with 16 and 14 kills respectively. Kubik now has fifteen matches with double figure kills this season, and is on a current streak of nine consecutive matches. Caroline Kerr helped the team to a .311 hurting percentage, finishing with 41 assists. Kerr also had a strong performance on serves, netting a season-high four in the contest. Gülce Güçtekin led from the back row with 20 digs, adding three assists and one ace.
Missouri enters the week on a six-game win streak, extending the streak in a victory over Georgia. The Tigers are led in kills by Caylen Alexander, whose 325 kills is the third-most in the SEC. Alexander ranks in the top 10 in multiple stats in the SEC, including points per set (4.78, sixth) and kills per set (4.17, seventh). Missouri leads the conference in assists 1,037, with setter Marina Crownover third in the conference with 325 on the season. Maya Sands leads the conference and ranks top 20 nationally with 4.86 digs per set. Sands also leads the conference in digs this season with 408. The Tigers are one of the top block defense teams in the conference, entering the weekend third in blocks per set with 2.57.
#9 Texas A&M enters the week on a win streak of its own, with five straight victories. The Aggies last earned their 11th sweep of the season in a road win against Ole Miss. The Aggies are one of the top defense teams in the country, holding opponents to a .161 hitting percentage. Ifenna Cos-Okpala is one of the top blockers in the country, ranking seventh in the nation with 1.56 blocks per set and 13th in total blocks with 109. Cos-Okpala has also been one of the most efficient hitters in the conference as well, ranking third in the league with a .398 hitting percentage. One of the top setters in the country, Maddie Waak comes into the week leading the country with 11.57 assists per set. Waak also ranks in the top 25 in Division I in assists this season with 810. Texas A&M are led in kills by Logan Lednicky with 270 and Kyndal Stowers with 199.
Tennessee's offense continues to produce at a high level this season. The Lady Vols enter the week with a .307 hitting percentage, second-best in the SEC and ranked fourth in Division I. The production has come from multiple sources this season, with four players over the 100-kill mark. Leading the team in kills is Hayden Kubik, coming in with 239 on the season. The senior hitter has 10 or more kills in 15 contests. Paityn Chapman follows with 154 kills, including nine matches with double-digit kills. Rounding out the quartet for the Lady Vols is Chelsea Sutton at 148 kills and Mackenzie Plante at 126. Four players have a hitting percentage over .300. Chelsea Sutton leads the team at .422, the second-best percentage in the conference. Paityn Chapman follows Sutton, with the sophomore opposite hitter entering the week at a .312-clip.
The Big Orange defense has been key to the team's success in 2025. Tennessee is holding opponents to a .178 hitting percentage, ranking third in the SEC. Tennessee's block defense has been impressive all season. The Lady Vols rank seventh in the conference in blocks per set at 2.46. Leading the team in blocks in Chelsea Sutton at 78, followed by redshirt freshman Zoë Humphrey at 63. The Lady Vols floor defense has been strong as well. As a team Tennessee has 914 digs, averaging 13.44 digs per set. Leading the team is Gülce Güçtekin with 3.82 digs per set and 260 digs, both marks ranking eighth in the conference respectively.
Caroline Kerr leads the team with 613 assists, averaging 9.32 assists per set. The setter is helping lead an offense that is fourth in the nation in hitting percentage at .307 and top 20 in kills per set at 14.13. Kerr has 2,927 assists in her career, the ninth-most in program history. Kerr also ranks in the top 10 in assists per set, with her 10.65 total sitting sixth all-time. Kerr has tallied 30 or more assists in 12 matches, including tying her career-high with 57 assists against Florida. That marked her 11th career match with 50 or more assists. Kerr also notched a double-double in the match, adding 15 digs.
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
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