It’s a bittersweet week of volleyball for me. Not only will it feature the last home matches of the 2021 season, and the last time the senior Lady Vols will take the court in Knoxville. But it will also be my last time at home covering the team — and if UT gets sent too far away in the tournament, it could be my last ever match covering the team in person! (Yes, I’m assuming UT will not be hosting first round tournament games. Not a given, but I think a safe bet.)

As I said back in April, I’ll be moving out of the state next summer. I’m not ready to say my goodbyes just yet! I’ll wait until after the season to do that. But I can’t help but note the occasion, because I’ve definitely been feeling the emotional weight of knowing that after walking into Stokely Athletic Center and Thompson Boling Arena to watch the Lady Vols play 203 times since 2007, I’m down to my last 2 trips.

But enough looking back — let’s look forward to what’s in store this week as Tennessee hosts Alabama!

UT is 39-19 all-time vs Alabama. The team is 6-4 in their last ten meetings, and 8-2 in their last ten at home.

The Lady Vols are 13-7 since 2001 in Senior Night matches. This will be their first Senior Night match vs the Crimson Tide in that time.

In their 58 all-time meetings, there have been only 7 five-set matches between the teams, with UA having a 3-4 advantage. Alabama has won the last four in a row. Tennessee’s last five-set win over ‘Bama was in 1991. The Lady Vols have never won a five-set match vs Alabama at home.

UT VS UA IN FIVE SETS
1979		12-15, 12-15, 15-10, 15-3, 15-8	Tuscaloosa
1990		7-15, 15-7, 12-15, 15-5, 15-12	Tuscaloosa
1991		15-7, 11-15, 15-13, 12-15, 15-7	Tuscaloosa
2005		30-26, 18-30, 18-30, 31-29, 15-13	Fayetteville
2006		24-30, 20-30, 30-24, 30-28, 15-11	Knoxville
2017		25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-9	Knoxville
2017		21-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11	Tuscaloosa

If UT were to win both matches this week, they would be guaranteed their 14th season with 10 or fewer losses since 1978 (not counting the COVID shortened season).

With two wins this week, Tennessee would have 12 home victories, tied for the 12th best total in the last 44 years.

Several players are on the court this weekend are in the top 200 nationally in individual per set statistics.

• Danielle Mahaffey is 9th in blocks with 1.38.
• Natalie Hayward is 26th in assists with 10.73.
• Mahaffey is 49th in hitting percentage at .365.
• Ava Bell is 113th in blocks with 1.10.
• Breana Runnels is 122nd in kills with 3.56.
• Morgahn Fingall is 126th in points with 4.03.
• Runnels is 140th in attacks with 9.74.
• Fingall is 177th in kills with 3.36.
• Alabama’s Abby Marjama is 15th in the nation in aces at 0.49.

The Alabama coaching staff has some deep East Tennessee roots. Head coach Lindsey Devine joined the Tide after a 16-year stint just up the road at ETSU. She ended her run there as their all-time winningest coach. In 2013, she snapped a 19 match losing streak to the Lady Vols dating back to 1979. In her last meeting vs Tennessee in 2018, she gave Eve Rackham her first ever loss as a head coach. Devine’s daughter and current assistant coach, Megan Ailshie, was a member of the Bucs team that broke ETSU’s losing streak. Her 27 kills in that match are still the 15th most by a UT opponent since 2001. She later was the head coach at her alma mater, Dobyns-Bennett High School, and a coach at Kingsport Volleyball Club. Assistant coach Ladislav Lelkes also worked with Devine in Johnson City.

While Friday’s match is obviously Senior Night, be sure not to miss Alumni Night on Thursday. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of past Lady Vols again! No official list announced but UT’s social media links have pictures of Jasmine Brown (2009-2012), Megan Hatcher (2012-2015), Raina Hembry (2013-2016), Taylor Johnson (2014-2015), and the 2011 SEC Championship team.

NATIONAL & CONFERENCE STATISTICAL RANKS

		aces per set	assists per set	blocks per set	digs per set	kills per set	hitting percent	opp hit percent
	STAT NCAA SEC	1.04 316 13	13.02 14 2	2.87 5 1	15.26 128 3	14.26 9 1	.265 28 3	.194 114 5
	STAT NCAA SEC	1.32 201 6	11.11 215 11	1.89 228 13	14.46 184 7	12.18 211 11	.180 250 13	.231 280 11

There are several promotions running this week. All military will receive free admission. And showing your South Alabama football ticket will get you into both matches. Thursday’s match is “Fan Appreciation Day” — in previous years that has usually meant more than usual giveaways during the game. On Friday, the first 100 fans will receive a free t-shirt.

Tickets are available online for $5.

Be sure to look over Thompson Boling Arena’s clear bag policy.

Parking and other gameday information can be found online as well.

Knoxville TN
Alabama
10-16, 2-12
Thursday, November 18th, 6:30pm ET	Live Stats | SEC Network+
Friday, November 19th, 6:30pm ET	Live Stats | SEC Network+