FLORENCE, Ala. (September 7, 2026) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team travels to Nashville on Tuesday, Sept. 8 to face the Tennessee State Tigers for the second midweek matchup of the season.
The Lions are playing in their fourth match in just five days, and they will look to remain undefeated following sweeps of Jackson State, Chattanooga and UT Martin at home this weekend at the Noona Kennard Invitational. This marks Tennessee State's first home match after playing at Memphis, Chattanooga and Cookeville.
UNA enters the match with a 7-0 overall record, while the Tigers enter with an 0-6 record. This marks North Alabama's best start in program history, starting with seven straight sweeps.
The match will be played in Kean Hall, and tickets will be $10 at the door. The match will not be broadcast on ESPN+, but fans can follow along with live stats through SIDEARM.
Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following the action, but fans can also follow along in real time on the UNA Volleyball social media pages.
MATCH INFO
North Alabama at Tennessee State
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
6 p.m.
Live Stats
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: The Lions enter the match with a 7-0 record that includes seven straight sweeps — the first time ever in school history UNA has recorded seven straight 3-0 sweeps to open a season. The most prior to that was six season-opening sweeps in 2002. UNA had two Preseason All-UAC selections, juniors Kinslee McGowan and Reese Ricketts, while McGowan also won the UAC's first weekly awards after winning Setter of the Week. The Lions had an impressive .342 hitting percentage and 136 kills with four Lions have 20+ kills.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: Tennessee State enters the match 0-6 and a team hitting percentage of .107. Maygan Miller-Garcia is the team kill leader with 210 while Sagaia Reilly leads the team with 601 assists. The Tigers were picked last in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason rankings.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE TIGERS: Tennessee State leads the series with a 3-1 record. The last time the two faced off was in 2022, and UNA lost 3-1. The Tigers swept UNA in 2019 and 2021. UNA's last win over the Tigers came in 2018 in the Chattanooga Classic where the Lions won in five sets.
AMONG AND ABOVE THE UNBEATENS: North Alabama is currently the only team in the NCAA Division I with a 7-0 record and is only one of 22 teams still undefeated. The group of 6-0 teams entering this week include Georgia Tech, Pitt, Colorado, Tulsa, Western Michigan, Lehigh and Duquesne. Other unbeatens with less wins include the likes of Nebraska, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Oregon, Stanford, Washington and North Carolina, among others.
KILLING IT: North Alabama's team has an average of 14.48 kills per set, ranking 11th in the NCAA. They have also limited their opponents well, only allowing an opponent hitting percentage of .130 to rank 16th in the NCAA.
DIGGING IT: The Lions are also fourth in all of Division I in digs per set with a 17.14 average with help from senior Ava Martindale, who is second in digs per set in the NCAA averaging 5.57.
SETTING IT: McGowan is third in the NCAA in assists per set, averaging 11.71. She is helping the team rank sixth in the NCAA, averaging 13.67. She also leads the UAC in assists per set and is eighth in the NCAA in total assists with 246.
ACED IT: True freshman Kaylee Maikranz set the individual Division I single match school record with seven aces against UT Martin on Saturday at the Noona Kennard Invitational. The previous record was six set by Lankford Gurner last season vs. Lipscomb.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
