Tennessee hits the road for the first time this season, heading to Minneapolis where they’ll face UTSA, West Virginia, and the homestanding #2 team in the nation, Minnesota.

MATCH NOTES

Tennessee is 1-0 all-time vs UTSA. Their only previous meeting was in 1998, a sweep by the Vols. Tennessee is 10-2 vs Conference USA since 2001.

Tennessee is (surprisingly, I think!) meeting West Virginia for the first time. Tennessee is 5-3 vs the Big 12 since 2001.

Tennessee is 1-4 all-time vs Minnesota. Their first meeting was in 1993, a 3-1 win for the Gophers. Their last meeting was in 2009, a UMN sweep. Tennessee is 5-14 vs the Big Ten since 2001.

The Vols started the season 3-0 for the 11th time in head coach Rob Patrick’s tenure. This weekend they could make it 4-0 for the 8th time, 5-0 for the 6th time, and 6-0 for the 4th time since 1997.

Minnesota is ranked #2 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The last time UT played a #2 ranked team was in 2005 when they defeated Penn State in State College PA during the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. That was the highest ranked opponent UT has ever defeated.

This will be the 32nd time in program history that the Vols have faced a top five team. They’ve won twice: the above mentioned Penn State game, and vs # 4 Florida in 2005.

TENNESSEE’S TOP 5 OPPONENTS
TEAM		TIMES PLAYED WHILE IN TOP FIVE	LAST MEETING
	Florida	22	2016: L 3-2
	Hawaii	3	1999: L 3-0
	Pacific	2	1984: L 3-0
	Nebraska	2	2007: L 3-0
	USC	1	1982: L 3-0
	Penn State	1	2005: W 3-1
	Minnesota	1	2017: ?

Tennessee is a respectable 28-54 vs ranked opponents in the rally-scoring era when they themselves are unranked. It’s a feat they’ve accomplished in each of the last two seasons.

All three UTSA coaches have faced Tennessee in the past in three different roles. Head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff was an All-American at the University of Texas. During her collegiate career, her teams faced the Vols 7 times between 1982 and 1985. Tennessee’s only win in the entire series with the Longhorns came her freshman season. Assistant coach Pete Hoyer faced the Vols twice before from the sidelines: in 1997 as head coach at Dayton and in 2015 as in assistant at North Carolina State. UT lost both matches. And assistant coach Dominique Gonzalez was an assistant at Kent State last season in the first meeting between the teams, a win for the Vols. For those not keeping track, that makes the UTSA coaching staff 8-2 vs Tennessee.

Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon led the USA to medals in two Olympic Games: a gold for the men’s team in 2008 in Beijing and a silver for the women’s team in 2012 in London.

The Gophers have a 36 match winning streak dating back to 2014 at their home court, the Sports Pavilion (which will be renamed the Maturi Pavilion in a ceremony before the Tennessee game).

West Virginia is playing in three tournaments before starting conference play and in each they’ll face a squad from the the Volunteer State: UT Martin, Tennessee, and Tennessee Tech.

UT’s last match in the state of Minnesota was in 2004, a 3-2 loss vs Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

LINKS OF INTEREST

After earning career victory 400, head coach Rob Patrick, and several other coaches from around the SEC, discuss the milestone.

Hurricane Harvey has caused trouble all over the Houston area in all aspects of life, and thet includes volleyball.

Former UT assistant coach Alan Edwards is in the thick of it as the head coach of Lamar University. His team was stuck in Clemson after a tournament due to the hurricane. A Facebook post he made thanking his hosts and the volleyball community is making the rounds on the web.

MATCH SCHEDULE

	UTSA ROADRUNNERS 2017: 0-3 // 2016: 20-8, 10-4 C-USA
	Friday, September 1, 5:30pm ET Minneapolis MN // Live Video // Live Stats

	WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 2017: 2-1 // 2016: 12-18, 3-13 Big 12
	Saturday, September 2, 1:00pm ET Minneapolis MN // Live Video // Live Stats

	MINNESOTA GOPHERS 2017: 2-0 // 2016: 29-5, 17-3 Big Ten
	Saturday, September 2, 8:00pm ET Minneapolis MN // Live Video [$] // Live Stats