Making statement wins is the only thing on every team’s mind as we get closer to the NCAA’s Selection show, and this week a couple of teams did just that.
There’s never a night off in the SEC. The teams that entered conference play are completely different than the teams battling it out now. The wins just mean more.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 7, from the upset wins to the nail-biting fives:
Must-knows: The wins and losses of Week 7
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Georgia hosted then-No. 8 Arkansas and shocked the Razorbacks with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 win.
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Middle blocker and go-to Bulldog Sophie Fischer led all players with 26.5 points, partly thanks to a career-high 22 kills on .441 hitting. She also put up seven blocks and picked up four digs.
As a team, Georgia hit .276 with 47 kills while Arkansas hit .222 with just 39 kills. The Bulldog win was highlighted by its all-around effort; no one could’ve beaten Georgia with the way it played on Wednesday.
Wednesday volleyball ended with a five-set thriller between LSU and Ole Miss. The home Rebels ended up taking the match 25-20, 25-14, 24-26, 20-25, 15-12.
Outside hitter Julia Dyessled all players with 22 kills and 25 points. Her counterpart, Anna Bair, and middle blocker Sasha Ratliff chipped in 15 and 12 kills of their own.
Looking at the stat sheet, it looks like LSU should’ve won based on the numbers it put up. When it’s looked at a little closer, though, the Tigers were high-error and couldn’t make the big plays when it mattered most.
The Rebels were able to take advantage of LSU’s mistakes, thus propelling them to the win.
On Friday, Nov. 3, then-No. 11 Tennessee was pushed to the limit before it was able to complete the five-set win against then-No. 20 Florida. The Vols got it done in 23-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13 sets.
Outside hitter Jenaisya Moore stepped up to the plate and delivered 23 kills for Tennessee on a .388 clip. She also picked up 16 digs for a new personal best.
In the match, Florida beat Tennessee in almost every facet of the game. The Gators had more kills, aces, assists and points. They even hit at a more efficient clip than Tennessee.
All signs pointed toward a Florida win, but in the end it was all Tennessee Orange. In big matches, teams need players who will step up for big moments; the fifth set included six kills on a .750 clip from Moore. Once again, Tennessee was the team that just wanted it more.
No. 13 Kentucky traveled to South Carolina and left with a 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 win.
Star freshman Brooklyn DeLeye and veteran middle blocker Azhani Tealer chipped in 17 and 16 points each, respectively, to help lead Kentucky to victory. Libero Eleanor Beavin put on a show of her own, picking up 17 digs and putting down four aces.
Despite a slip-up in the third set, the Wildcats quickly rebounded and fended off the Gamecocks with ease thanks to a .320 hit percentage off of setter Emma Grome’s 50 assists.
Texas A&M hosted Alabama and added another tally to the L column for the Tide as it was swept 25-20, 25-15, 25-18.
Outside hitters Bianna Muoneke and Caroline Meuth both contributed 13 points to the win. Muoneke finished with 10 kills on .333 hitting and had a tremendous defensive match with 13 digs and four blocks. Meuth had nine kills and five digs to go along with three blocks and two aces.
The Aggies hit .291 overall, but the win was fueled by their elite defense on the night. Texas A&M has been acknowledged time and time again as the SEC’s best blocking team; because of 11 Aggie blocks, Alabama hit .028 after committing 21 hitting errors and only had 24 kills.
To finish Friday night volleyball, Missouri defeated Mississippi State in straight sets, 25-15, 25-18, 25-18.
Rightside hitter Jordan Iliff had a night for the Tigers: the junior finished with 15 kills to average five per set, hit .619 after only committing two errors and picked up 13 digs. Her 18 points led all players in the game.
The Tigers played their cleanest volleyball of the season to sail smoothly past MS State. In the end, Missouri’s .458 hitting was just too much for the Bulldogs.
South Carolina had its senior day celebration on Sunday, Nov. 5, and was able to send its seniors off with a three-set win against Ole Miss. The Gamecocks finished it 29-27, 25-19, 25-19.
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Outside hitter Lauren McCutcheon led all players in multiple categories: her 15 points, 14 kills and .444 hitting were all match-highs. She also had nine digs and two blocks.
The first set went to the wire and tested South Carolina’s resiliency, but once the set was over with, the Gamecocks never looked back.
LSU also had its senior day celebration on Sunday and got past Alabama in four sets. The Tigers won it 18-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-16.
Three players shined for the Purple and Gold: freshman outside hitter Jurnee Robinson, graduate student middle blocker Anita Anwusi and redshirt-sophomore rightside hitter Ellie Echter.
Robinson was 14 of 30 and hit .300. She also had 11 digs, two blocks and two aces. Anwusi was nine of 18 with only one hitting error to hit .444 and put down a career-high four aces. Echter was 13 of 22 with only two errors, finishing as LSU’s most efficient hitter with a .500 mark.
Then-No. 13 Kentucky went into No. 20 Florida’s home territory and left with a 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18 win.
Three Wildcats contributed 15 points to the scoreboard: DeLeye, senior right side hitter Reagan Rutherford and senior middle blocker Elise Goetzinger.
DeLeye finished with a double-double, tallying 15 kills and 10 digs. Rutherford and Goetzinger both chipped in 13 kills and had some defensive contributions up at the net with four and three blocks each, respectively.
Rebounding from an early-week loss, then-No. 8 Arkansas hosted and defeated Mississippi State in 26-24, 25-12 and 25-22 sets.
After a rough performance against Georgia, outside hitter Taylor Head stepped back up and led all players with 15 points and 13 kills. She also picked up 10 digs to finish with a double-double.
What was different this time for the Razorbacks was their attack from the service line. With seven aces, Arkansas almost served the Bulldogs off the court.
When it finally looked like it was out of the losing field, Georgia traveled to Missouri and was greeted with a five-set loss. Missouri got it done in 16-25, 25-23, 29-31, 25-23, 15-13 sets.
Iliff had another stellar performance, finishing with 22 kills and seven digs. She was also responsible for two of Missouri’s six aces.
The match finished in favor of the Tigers, but the stat sheet conveys otherwise. UGA took it home in almost every category that matters the most; it had more kills, committed fewer errors, garnered more attempts, hit at a better clip, tallied more points and had more assists.
Missouri’s win wasn’t due to being the better team. Simply put, the Tigers fought hard enough to push it to five and focused on winning what they needed to win. Georgia was defeated by its own mental game and wasn’t able to finish it off in the moments it was able to.
To finish the week, No. 24 Auburn played back-and-forth sets with Texas A&M before closing it out in five. The Tigers took it 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12.
Pin hitters Madison Scheer and Akasha Anderson had almost identical performances; the two each finished with 17 points, 16 kills and two blocks. Anderson also picked up eight digs.
Auburn was almost finished off just because of the Aggies’ service pressure. In the match, Texas A&M dropped in 10 aces, but it still wasn’t enough to cage the Tigers. Both defensively and offensively, Auburn was just better; the team finished hitting .320 and outblocked the SEC’s best blocking team, 12-4.
What-nows: Conference standings and weekly honors
No. 13 Kentucky (13-7, 11-1 SEC) owns the top of the standings, but is followed closely by No. 11 Arkansas (21-4, 11-2 SEC). No. 10 Tennessee (19-3, 10-2 SEC) is in third place.
No. 24 Auburn (18-5, 8-4 SEC) trails further behind in fourth place. To finish off the top half of the standings, Texas A&M (15-8, 7-6 SEC) and Missouri (15-9, 7-6 SEC) tie for fifth place.
In the middle of the pack, two teams are tied for seventh place. No. 21 Florida (14-7, 6-6 SEC) gets the advantage over Georgia (15-9, 6-6 SEC). In ninth place is LSU (10-12, 5-7 SEC) and in 10th place is Mississippi State (11-12, 4-9 SEC).
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Ole Miss (10-15, 4-10 SEC) is in 11th place, followed closely by South Carolina (9-13, 3-10 SEC), which is in 12th. Finishing off the standings is Alabama (10-14, 0-13).
Kentucky’s Grome was named the SEC Player and Setter of the Week after leading her team to another 2-0 week. Through two four-set matches, Grome put up 101 assists and helped Kentucky hit .284 overall.
Missouri’s Iliff was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after owning the net in the Tiger’s 2-0 week. The junior averaged 5.56 points and 4.63 kills per set through eight sets and hit .394.
Tennessee libero Yelianiz Torres was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after two phenomenal defensive efforts in the Vols 2-0 week. Against Texas A&M, the graduate student had 17 digs. She followed that up with 21 digs against Florida.
Missouri setter Sierra Dudley was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after setting her team to two big victories. Against Mississippi State, she put up 43 assists, then followed that up with 50 assists against Georgia. Through eight sets, Dudley averaged 11.63 assists and helped her team hit .339 overall.
Should-sees: Upcoming matches and big games in the SEC
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, No. 13 Kentucky travels to play No. 24 Auburn.
The Wildcats are on a 10-match winning streak and have only dropped one game in SEC play, which was later avenged when they met Tennessee again. Auburn is trying to get hot right before tournament selections come out, and a win against Kentucky would be enough of a statement to impress the committee.
This must-see match will start at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
At 7 p.m., Mississippi State hosts South Carolina. The match will be on SEC Network.
No. 10 Tennessee will host Georgia on Friday, Nov. 10. The match will be on SEC Network+ at 5:30 p.m. Then, at 6 p.m., three matches will be available on SEC Network+: LSU at No. 21 Florida, No. 11 Arkansas at Alabama and Texas A&M at Missouri.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, No. 13 Kentucky will host Georgia. The match will be on SEC Network at noon.
The remainder of Sunday volleyball will be available on SEC Network+.
At 1 p.m., No. 10 Tennessee will host Ole Miss. At the same time, South Carolina will host LSU.
