Auburn volleyball is looking to get its first SEC win of the season against No. 20 Tennessee on the road Wednesday night..
Coming off a hard-fought loss to Alabama State on Sunday, Sept. 26, the Tigers are looking to rebound with a win against the Volunteers, who beat Auburn in both of last year’s matchups with sweeps of the Tigers. A win for Auburn will even its SEC record to 1-1 and will be its first win over a Top 25 team since 2017. A win for Tennessee will improve its SEC record to 3-0 and will be the best record in the conference.
Key Players for the Match:
Auburn:
Bella Rosenthall: The senior libero has already been named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. Rosenthall is also leading the conference with an average of 5.34 digs per set and is 65 digs away from reaching 1,000 career digs. If she reaches this mark, she will become the 15th Tiger to join the 1,000 dig club.
Rebekah Rath: Rath has also received SEC Player of the Week honors by claiming an Offensive Player of the Week recognition earlier in the season. Rath currently ranks second in the conference in total points (208.5) and points per set (5.09). She is also ranked fourth in kills per set (4.37) and total kills (179).
Tatum Shipes: Entering this week, Shipes ranks second in the SEC in blocks per set (1.39). Shipes has also made a position transition this year, moving from outside hitter to middle blocker. This move has proven to be effective as Shipes is leading the team in total blocks (53.0), which is also good enough for fourth in the conference.
Tennessee:
Morgahn Fingall: Fingall is leading the Volunteers so far with 148 total kills. She is fifth in the conference with an average of 3.89 kills per set. She is fourth in the SEC in attacks per set (9.82) and is third in points per set (4.71). Fingall is also a threat at the service line, leading the Lady Vols with nine aces so far this season.
Natalie Hayward: The starting setter for the Volunteers, Hayward is ranked second in the conference in assists per set (11.0), which also places her 13th nationally in the category. She has totaled 452 assists this year, which is the fifth most in the SEC. Hayward also does her job defensively, totaling 31.0 total blocks and 123 digs for Tennessee.
Danielle Mahaffey: So far, Mahaffey is topping the SEC with an average of 1.46 blocks per set. She also ranks second in the conference with a total of 54.0 blocks. That number is also good as the team-leading total amount of blocks.
Keys for the Game:
Auburn is ranked fourth in the SEC in blocks per set with an average of 2.51. The Tigers also rank second with an average of 16.2 digs per set. Most importantly headed into this matchup, Auburn is ranked first in the conference and fourth nationally by only allowing an opponent hitting percentage of .118.
For the Tigers to be successful against Tennessee, they must get their offense started strong and be successful defensively against a Volunteer offense that ranks first in kills per set (14.8) and fourth in team hitting percentage (.278) in the conference. Tennessee will need to be looking to shut down Auburn’s offense and keep its offensive attack steady and effective.
The match is set to start at 7 p.m. CST at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The game will be available for viewing on the SEC Network.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
