Oct. 26, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Gamecock volleyball will step out of its usual weekend format and will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. and face the 16th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols on Wednesday night. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stokely Athletcis Center. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year. In September, Tennessee defeated the Gamecocks 3-0 in Columbia.

The Gamecocks have a slight lead in the series against Tennessee with a 22-21 record. A win by the Lady Vols would tie the series and it would be the fourth straight loss for USC to Tennessee. The Lady Vols are 19-2 and 9-1 in the SEC while USC is 11-8 and 4-6 in the conference.

The Gamecocks are looking to snap a two-match losing streak and to record their first win against an SEC Eastern division team. The Lady Vols are coming off of their first conference loss of the season as they fell to No. 8 Florida 3-1 on Friday.

Setter Julie Knytych, the conference leader in assists, and Kristen Andre, the SEC leader in hitting percentage, leads Tennessee. The Gamecocks are led by Shonda Cole, ranked fourth in the SEC in kills per game and Lauren Ford, ranked third in the SEC in blocks per game. Ford is just eight blocks away from recording her 200th career total block.

Head coach Kim Hudson is 18-7 against the Lady Vols while Tennessee coach Rob Patrick is 4-12 against the Gamecocks.