SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--- The Tennessee State University Tiger volleyball team continues its demanding pre-conference schedule this weekend when it travels to Salt Lake City, Utah, to take on three teams they have never faced. After getting swept in last week's LUV Invitational at Lipscomb University, the Tigers (0-4) will be searching for their first victory of the season.
 
"We have high expectations for our team; that's why we have such a tough schedule," said TSU head coach Donika Sutton. "We want to be ready once conference season starts. This gives us a good measurement of what we need to work on. We love the challenges that we have ahead of us."
 
Those challenges include playing three teams from the western part of the country, starting with the host Utah Utes on Friday at 1:00 p.m. (CST). Later, at 5:30 p.m. (CST), they will encounter the San Francisco Dons. They will finish the trip by playing the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CST).
 
Match 5: TSU (0-4) at Utah (2-3)
Date/Time: Friday, September 8 | 1 p.m. (CST
Watch:  Utah Live Stream | Pac-12
Live Stats:  Tennessee State at Utah (statbroadcast.com)
Location: | Salt Lake City, Utah Jon Huntsman Center
 
 
Match 6: TSU (0-4) vs. San Francisco (2-4)
Date/Time: Friday, September 8 | 5:30 p.m. (CST
Watch:  Utah Live Stream | Pac-12
Live Stats:  Tennessee State San Francisco (statbroadcast.com)
Location: | Salt Lake City, Utah Jon Huntsman Center
 
Match 7: TSU (0-4) vs. UC Santa Barbara (5-1)
Date/Time: Saturday, September 9 | 2:30 p.m. (CST
Watch:  Utah Live Stream | Pac-12
Live Stats:  Tennessee State UC Santa Barbara (statbroadcast.com)
Location: | Salt Lake City, Utah Jon Huntsman Center
 
Quick Hits:
 
Motivated Tigers
Head coach Donika Sutton loves to motivate her players. Last season, her team was picked to finish last by her conference counterparts. That prediction inspired the Tennessee State Tiger volleyball team to win the OVC tournament, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA. Despite their strong finish, the Tigers are once again motivated. They are picked to finish sixth out of the 11 conference teams.

Six Million Dollar Man Recruiting
After playing nationally ranked Stanford University in the regular season and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament, Sutton vowed to add size and speed to her recruitment strategy. With the addition of tall and athletic transfers Erica Calderone (Indian Hills Community College), Jayla Holcombe (Murray State), and Hennesys Lalane (Indian Hills CC), there are now eight players at her disposal who are listed at 6'0 and above.

Defense Wins Championships
Last season, the Tigers used an outstanding defense to fuel their run to the OVC championship. TSU led the OVC in opponent-hitting percentage (.172) and blocks per set (2.45) while also finishing as the only team in the conference to have over 300 total blocks with 326, placing them second in the country. Senior Kennedy Davis (138) and sophomore Gabrielle Johnson (129) had over 100 total blocks, with Davis leading the OVC in that category. Davis is the lone Tiger to make the OVC preseason all-conference team.
 
The Prides of the Nashville Area
Junior libero Hadley Pride has some big shoes to fill in trying to replace the OVC all-time leader in digs, Gina Rivera-Ortiz. Pride, a graduate of Hillsboro High School in Nashville, and Storm White, who hails from Smyrna, Tennessee, are the only Nashville area players on the roster.

International Cuisine
Over the years, the Tigers have relied on an international approach to recruiting, so much that it isn't foreign (see what I did there) to hear music from other countries during pregame warmups. Grad student Aleksandra Rojecka (Poland) and senior Alondra Santana-Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) are holdovers from last year's team. Like Santana-Rodriguez, freshman duo Celianiz Cabranes and Alanys Otero are from Puerto Rico. Erica Calderone and Hennesys Lalaine come to Big Blue Country from the Dominican Republic. Freshman Jadyn Webb has international experience playing for the US Virgin Islands.
 
 
THE TIGERS AT A GLANCE

• The Tigers are the defending OVC Tournament champions.
• Senior Kennedy Davis is the lone Tiger named to the Preseason All-OVC Team.
• The Tigers have nine players returning from their OVC championship team. Of the six newcomers, three are first-year students.
• Junior Hennesys Lalane had a strong debut in a Tiger uniform this past weekend, dishing out 27 assists in six sets.
• Freshman Celianiz Cabranes has been nominated for OVC Defensive and Freshman of the Week in both weeks this season.

 
SCOUTING UTAH:

• This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
• The Utes return 11 letter winners from a year ago, highlighted by the reigning Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year, K.J. Burgess, and U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team member Lauren Jardine.
• Head Coach Beth Launier is in her 34^th season with Utah. She is the winningest head coach and holds a 641-404 career record.
• Senior Amelia Van Der Werf started her college career at Middle Tennessee State University.

 
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO:

• This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
• Last season, the Dons won 17 games, the most in a season since 2015.
• SF returns ten players from a season ago while welcoming eight newcomers.
• 2022 WCC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman honoree Abby Wadas led the team and ranked third in the league last season with 414 total digs; Wadas became the first Don to compile at least 400 digs in a season since Anna Dalla Vecchia in 2019.
• The Dons are led on offense by Maria Petkova, who finished second on the team with 317.0 total points and 270 total kills, and Aylen Ayub, who led the Dons with 656 total assists.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA:

• This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
• The Gauchos won 20 games last season.
• This is Head Coach Matt Jones' first season.
• UCSB was picked to finish second in the Big West Conference.
• Out of their five victories, four have come in straight sets.
• Macall Peed is the Big West's Libero of the Year and an AVCA All-Pacific Region Honorable Mention recipient.
•  Michelle Ohwobete is an All-Big West First Team winner, and Tasia Farmer was an All-Big West Honorable Mention honoree.
• UC Santa Barbara brought in two transfers from Power Five programs, Andi Kreiling from Arizona State and Michelle Zhao from Washington State.
• Only loss this season was to sixth-ranked Oregon.

 
Up Next:
The Tigers will host the Tiger-Bruin Invitational starting Thursday when they take on UC San Diego at 6:00 p.m.