TENNESSEE VOLLEYBALL ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – First-year Tennessee head volleyball coach Eve Rackham has announced two additions to her staff in Tyler Adams and Whitney Miller. Adams will serve as an assistant coach, with Miller holding the title of Director of Volleyball Operations.

"I have known Tyler for almost 10 years and had the pleasure of working very closely with him," Rackham said. "He has taught me a lot about the analytics and statistical side of the game. I believe he is one of the best in the business, and I recognize the extreme value he will bring to our program.

"When putting together a staff, my hope was to find people that I not only completely trust, but who share my vision and comprehend the work ethic required at this level. There is no doubt Tyler is that person. He and I have been a part of championship teams together and understand the culture needed for success. I am looking forward to getting to work with him again."

"Whitney is the perfect fit for our Director of Operations position. She is proactive, detail-orientated, organized and not afraid of hard work. I also appreciate the positivity she approaches every day with and believe our players will find her to be a great role model. She has been mentored by some incredible people at Springfield College and will bring that knowledge to our staff. I am excited to see how she helps us on a daily basis and believe she has a great future in college volleyball."

TYLER ADAMS
Adams enters his first season as assistant coach at Tennessee after serving in the same capacity at North Carolina for the past seven seasons. He is responsible for practice planning, team training, generating scouting reports, video breakdown and statistical analysis.

Adams spent eight seasons on the bench at UNC, the last seven of which he spent as an assistant coach after serving as a volunteer assistant his first year. The Tar Heels earned NCAA Tournament berths in seven of the eight seasons he was on the staff in Chapel Hill.

Adams and the Tar Heels coaching staff guided UNC to a 29-4 campaign in 2016, marking his second ACC championship with a stellar 19-1 record in conference play. North Carolina received its highest AVCA (6) and RPI (5) rankings in program history that season and advanced to NCAA Regionals for the second time in three years while defeating a program-record three top-10 teams.

In 2014, the Heels went 29-3 with a perfect 16-0 record at home en route to the program's most wins since 2002. North Carolina earned a series of new program highs during that remarkable campaign, including a No. 7 AVCA Coaches Poll ranking, a No. 5 NCAA RPI ranking and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

UNC also reeled off 20-straight victories in 2014, the longest streak in program history. The season ended for the Tar Heels in the NCAA Regional finals in Minneapolis—marking the program's deepest-ever NCAA Tournament run.

In 2013, Adams helped guide UNC to a program-record 15-0 start. That season was capped by the program's 15th NCAA Tournament berth. The Tar Heels finished 2013 with a 27-5, recording their most wins since 2002.

In addition to his coaching duties at Carolina, Adams worked in several different roles over five years with USA Volleyball. In 2014, Adams traveled with the Men's Junior National Team to compete in the NORCECA U21 Championships in El Salvador. He served as the technical coordinator and video analyst for the team, which captured the bronze medal in a highly competitive tournament.

Adams also has extensive experience with the USA Women's National A2 program, which is made up of the top collegiate women's volleyball players in the country with at least one year of college eligibility remaining. In 2012, he worked with the team in Columbus, Ohio, serving as a technical assistant. And in 2010, Adams helped lead the USA Volleyball A2 Blue National Team to gold at the USA Volleyball Open National Championship in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2011, Adams worked as an assistant at the USA High Performance Championships with the Select Age Division A2 program, and he has also worked boys' and girls' USA High Performance tryouts.

Prior to joining the UNC staff in 2010, Adams served as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Central Florida, for two years (2008, 2010). In between his coaching stints, Adams played and coached professionally in Germany, guiding the Oberliga professional volleyball team FC Schuttorf to a 17-1 record and the league championship in 2009.

A 2008 graduate of UCF with a degree in Psychology, Adams played five years for the Knights' club volleyball team. He was honored by the NIRSA as a second-team All-American in 2008. From 2006-08, he served as a player/coach for the club team, before taking over as head coach in 2009.

WHITNEY MILLER
As Director of Volleyball Operations, Miller's duties include oversight of team travel, camps, daily administrative duties, alumni relations, equipment and expanding the team's courtside premium-seating inventory.

A rising star in the collegiate volleyball ranks, Miller comes to Tennessee from her alma mater, Division III Springfield College in Massachusetts, where she was a graduate assistant coach for the past two seasons.

The Cuba, New York, native graduated from Springfield with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education before obtaining her master's degree in Athletic Administration.

She spent the 2015 season as an assistant coach with the Western New England women's volleyball program.

Miller—who earned both AVCA honorable mention All-America honors and NEWMAC All-Conference honors during her collegiate playing career—was a key member of the Pride squad that reached the NCAA Division III Championship quarterfinals in 2011.

At the time of her graduation, Miller was one of only eight players in Springfield's storied volleyball history to go appear in the NCAA Championships all four years of her career.

University of Tennessee Athletics

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