Auburn Faces Tennessee in Knoxville Wednesday

Auburn Faces Tennessee in Knoxville WednesdayAuburn Faces Tennessee in Knoxville Wednesday

Oct. 3, 2017

Auburn at Tennessee

10-3/3-1 vs. 8-5/1-3





MATCH

Wednesday, October 47 p.m. CT
Auburn at Tennessee

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team (10-3, 3-1 SEC) travels to Tennessee for its first Wednesday-night match, Oct. 4. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT and the contest between the Tigers and the Volunteers will be broadcast on SEC Network.

QUICK HITS
- Auburn hosted a pair of conference matches last weekend in Auburn Arena. The Tigers dropped a hard-fought 3-2 match to Mizzou Friday, Sept. 29, before sweeping Arkansas Sunday, Oct. 1.
- Senior setter Alexa Filley moved up to No. 2 on the program's career assists list Friday and surpassed Janel Newkirk (1989-92) for the second slot. Piper Craig (1995-98) holds the top spot with 5,053, while Filley has 4,143 helpers to her credit.
- Filley is among the best in the SEC in assists so far this season, ranking fourth overall with a 10.73 assists/set average. She's also second on the team in digs with a 2.94 average and third in the conference with nine double-doubles (assists/digs) this year.
- Senior Jesse Earl is averaging 5.10 digs/set to rank first in the conference and 31st in the nation. Her 6.20 digs/set in SEC play is also first in the league. She has totaled double-digit digs in all 13 matches this year.
- Sophomore Shaina White is second in the conference and ninth in the nation in hitting efficiency, having 127 kills on the year with a .425 attack percentage.
- Sophomore Gwyn Jones reached a career high vs. Mizzou, totaling 21 kills against the visiting Tigers Friday. She leads the team with a 2.96 kills/set average and has 142 on the season.
- The Auburn back row ranks third in the SEC with a 15.79 digs/set average, while the team's 16.40 mark in conference-only play is No. 1 in the league.
- With the assistance of the solid back row play, the Tigers had an SEC best .156 opponent hitting percentage in conference-only action. The squad's .170 opponent clip overall is third in the league.
- Auburn also ranks second in kills against league foes, having a 13.93 average. And behind solid play from Filley, the team's 12.67 assists/set is third.

INITIAL RPI RANKING
- With a challenging non-conference schedule come and gone and a successful start to SEC play, the Tigers enter the week at No. 21 in the initial NCAA RPI ranking announced Monday.
- Auburn has faced six teams in the Top 50 so far this year and has a 3-3 record against those teams, including a pair of wins over No. 36 Arkansas and No. 37 NC State.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE
- The Tennessee Volunteers are 8-5 overall with a 1-3 record in Southeastern Conference action. The team is coming off a pair of road losses last weekend, falling in three sets at No. 1 Florida (Sept. 29) and in four at South Carolina (Oct. 1).
- The Volunteers were selected to finish sixth in the SEC according to the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Junior Alyssa Andrena is among the conference's leaders in hitting percentage and blocking so far this season. She's hitting .354 for the Vols, while her 1.24 blocks/set average is sixth in the league.
- Junior libero Brooke Schumacher is fifth in the SEC with a 4.35 digs/set average.
- As a team, the Volunteers are averaging 2.88 blocks/set to rank third overall in the league. The team's 14.93 digs/set average in conference-only play is fourth.

A WIN OVER TENNESSEE WOULD...
- Be the sixth win in the last seven meetings over Tennessee.
- Give Auburn its fourth win in SEC play.

AUBURN-TENNESSEE SERIES
- Wednesday's match is the 49th meeting between Auburn and Tennessee with the series dating back to 1974.
- Tennessee leads 30-17-1 record over the Tigers.
- The Volunteers have been successful in Knoxville vs. Auburn, having a 15-4 record.

UP NEXT
Auburn faces its fourth nationally-ranked opponent Sunday, Oct. 8, as the team travels to No. 10 Kentucky. The Tigers and the Wildcats square off at 1 p.m. CT and the contest will air live on ESPNU from Lexington.