No. 6 Tennessee wraps up its weekend road swing Sunday afternoon at Missouri, with first serve set for 2:30 p.m. ET.
The Lady Vols head to Columbia trying to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Texas A&M on Friday, a match they played without middle blocker Chelsea Sutton.
Tennessee opened that defeat by dropping the first two sets in tight fashion, 27-25 and 33-31, then answered with a 25-15 win in the third before the Aggies closed it out 25-23 in the fourth. The setback snapped a seven-match winning streak that had included victories over then-No.
4 Kentucky and then-No. 22 Vanderbilt.
Tennessee enters at 16-4 overall and 7-3 in SEC play, with a lineup still powered by a few major producers. Kennedi Rogers has been the top scorer so far with 268 kills, averaging 4.32 per set, and she has added 149 digs.
Jalyn Stout has chipped in 207 kills while hitting .337. Caroline Kerr has directed the offense with 736 assists, an average of 10.82 per set, and Raegan Burns leads the back row with 211 digs.
Sutton’s status matters on both ends of the floor. If she’s still unavailable, Tennessee loses its top blocker and one of its most efficient hitters.
She leads the team with 70 blocks, or 1.27 per set, and is hitting .376. As a group, the Lady Vols are hitting .285 and holding opponents to .188.
Missouri returns home at 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the SEC, and the Tigers have been strong in their own gym at 10-2. They’re also looking to recover after a 3-0 loss at Kentucky on Friday, a result that ended a five-match winning streak.
Missouri had three set points in the second set but couldn’t finish the job, and the Tigers hit just .168 for the match. Lydia Stahley led the way with seven kills, while Ainoah Cruz finished with 14 digs.
Paige Felder leads Missouri with 220 kills and a team-high 20 aces, averaging 2.86 kills per set. Grace O’Reilly has 154 kills and Kimani Johnson has 144, giving the Tigers multiple steady options on the attack. Cruz is the top defender at 4.41 digs per set, Eva Smith leads the block column with 85, or 1.06 per set, and Nina Mandovic and Sierra Dudley split setting duties with 349 and 355 assists, respectively.
In Other News...
Ex-Vol Jaylen Carey Suddenly Faces Uncertain Status For Tennessee Return
Jaylen Careys path back to Tennessee is suddenly looking a lot less straightforward. The former Vols forward, now at Missouri, has been indefinitely suspended by head coach Dennis Gates for a violation of team rules, leaving his status in limbo before the 2026-27 season even gets going.
Carey spent one season in Knoxville before transferring, so any potential return to the court would have carried some extra attention from Tennessee fans. For now, though, Missouri has not provided a timeline for when he might be back, and it remains unclear whether he will suit up again at all. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Witten Just Landed A Huge Midseason Test At Oklahoma
Oklahoma has made a midseason shakeup on offense, turning to a familiar football name in Jason Witten after parting ways with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. The move puts the former NFL tight end in charge of the Sooners offense for the rest of the season, with head coach Brent Venables saying the change was made to try to lift a unit that has struggled to produce in SEC play.
For Tennessee, it adds another layer to a conference matchup that already carried plenty of weight. The Sooners have been near the bottom of the league in offensive production, and Witten now inherits the challenge of trying to steady things quickly in the middle of the season. It is a significant test for a coach still early in this role, and one that could shape how Oklahomas offense looks the rest of the way. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Now Waits On A 4-Star Decision That Could Shape 2028
A key recruiting decision is coming into focus for Tennessee, and it involves one of the more promising young linebackers in the 2028 class. Skylar Alston, a four-star prospect from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, is expected to announce his college commitment on Nov. 8, with the Vols still firmly in the mix after extending a scholarship and staying engaged through multiple visits and recruiting events.
His list of finalists is a crowded one, with North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and UCLA all still in the hunt. For Tennessee, landing Alston would be another sign that its recruiting reach is holding strong well beyond its immediate footprint, but for now the Vols are left waiting as the decision date approaches and the picture begins to narrow. [Read more 🡒]