University of Tennessee Athletics
VB: Creating a New Legacy
August 21, 2007 | Volleyball
In each of the past three seasons, University of Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick has guided his squad to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the regional semifinals in 2004 and the Final Four in 2005. Many of the leaders from those teams, however, have graduated and a youthful squad is set to take the court for the Orange and White in 2007, as nine of the team???s 14 members are either freshmen or sophomores. Past precedent of success has been set. There is a tradition to uphold. For these players, the 2007 campaign serves as a perfect opportunity for them to leave their own mark on the program???to ???Create a New Legacy.???
In 2006, the Lady Vols added another page to the record books, earning the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The season began on a high note for UT, as it easily claimed the Comcast Lady Vol Classic championship with victories over Virginia, Centenary and Miami (Ohio). The momentum continued into the following week when the team opened the LMU/Hilton LAX Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., with a pair of quality wins. Tennessee first took out host-team Loyola Marymount before making quick work of North Carolina.
Although the team fell to Southern California on its final day in Los Angeles, it quickly regained form and claimed victory in 10 of its next 12 contests, including three at the University of Pittsburgh Invitational. Unfortunately, injuries and inconsistency plagued the Lady Vols for the remainder of the season, as the squad posted a 4-12 record to close out the campaign. Despite the rough stretch, the NCAA committee felt that the Big Orange???s third-place finish in the ultra-competitive SEC Eastern Division made it worthy of hosting the first two rounds of postseason play. Even with home-court advantage, however, the Lady Vols fell to No. 25 Duke in the first round. According to Patrick, those struggles will serve as motivation for members of the 2007 squad.
???Our players feel that they did not reach their full potential last year,??? Patrick said. ???They felt that they let some matches go. We had a lot of games that we lost by very close scores or matches where we were up two games to one and were unable to finish them off. That did not leave a very good taste in their mouths, and they worked very hard this off???season to put themselves in a position to not let that happen again.???
One big obstacle facing the Tennessee volleyball team heading into the new season will be replacing the leadership and strong play of the 2006 graduating class of Sarah Blum, Kelsey Fautsch and Annie Sadowski.
???Last year???s senior class was what you would call a foundation class,??? Patrick said. ???They provided a lot of stability out on the court, were basically all four-year starters and were instrumental in helping us win a lot of big matches. We will not be able to replace the experience that those players had with any one person. We need a number of players to step up and fill the void left by those seniors in order to be successful this season.???
Always a cornerstone of a Patrick-coached team, this year???s squad will rely heavily on strong defensive play as it gains experience on the offensive side of the ball early in the season.
???I have always built my teams on defense, even when I was coaching club volleyball and when I first got to Tennessee,??? Patrick said. ???We did not always have the physicality at the net needed to be able to challenge teams, so we had to do it by digging more balls and controlling the ball better than other teams. I also think that it builds a tenacious, ???never say quit??? attitude. Those are the types of teams that I like to build and the type of attitude I like our teams to have.???
While many would view the lack of experience on this season???s Lady Vol squad as a negative, Patrick sees it as the opposite.
???There is a lot of excitement when you have young players,??? Patrick said. ???When players get to be juniors and seniors it becomes a little more routine and they have basically become the player they are going to be for the rest of their career. Young players bring an excitement that can really energize a team. It also helps that we have a very coachable group. These kids want to learn and have a desire to continue getting better.???
Despite the youthful roster, the team???s goals will remain the same; win the SEC championship and go deep into the NCAA Tournament.
???One of the main things that we always look at is to win the SEC,??? Patrick said. ???That???s always going to be the number one goal. Physically, we are going to be able to do some things on the court that will allow us to play with any team in our conference. We are going to be playing teams that are just as athletic as we are but that might have a little more experience. In order to be successful, we are going to have to work harder than everybody else to off set that difference in experience when we are on the court.
???As far as the NCAA Tournament, every year it is going to be a little bit different,??? Patrick said. ???We are a little bit younger this year, but, if we get the right draw and we can put ourselves in the position to be in a good spot going into the tournament, we can make some noise. That is what this team wants to do.???
In 2007, the opportunity exists for a number of Lady Vols to leave an indelible mark on the Tennessee volleyball program. Virtually every position on the team is open for competition entering the season. With such a wide open lineup, Patrick feels that he will be able to get more from his team as they fight for playing time.
???I think competition brings out the best in people and makes them continue to work hard,??? Patrick said. ???I also like it because we play more as a team. If we can rotate in a fresh player towards the end of a match without having a drop off in our level of play, our team holds a distinct advantage, and we will be more successful.???
While sophomore setter Jena Berg is the lone player comfortably assured of a starting spot, she is also the one person who stands to gain the most from UT???s situation. With last year???s starter Chelsea Noble making the decision to transfer, Berg has been thrust into the spotlight where, from all accounts, she has flourished. In 2006, the
Bristol, Wis., product saw action in 29 of the team???s 30 matches, primarily as a defensive and serving specialist. She also got experience at the setter position when the team went to a 6-2 offense. Berg finished second on the team with 157 assists, sixth with 167 digs and tied for seventh with eight service aces.
???Jena has done a fantastic job of taking advantage of an opportunity that has presented itself to her,??? Patrick said. ???She is in tremendous condition and had a great spring season learning both our offensive systems and hitters. We will need her to be a leader on the court even though she???s only a sophomore. She will be the most physical setter that we???ve ever had at Tennessee, especially playing at the net. It will be exciting to be able to use some of her unique abilities in that regard to make our team better.???
While versatile sophomore Jaye Loyd will primarily play the role of defensive specialist for the Orange and White, she will also provide depth at the setter position behind Berg. The Stockton, Calif., native came on very strong at the end of the 2006 campaign, earning the first starting nod of her career in the team???s final regular-season match and playing in 26 contests.
???In my opinion, Jaye has improved the most, technically, of any of our players this off -season,??? Patrick said. ???She is a very gifted athlete with strong legs who can play defense very close to the ground. The thing that I am most proud of is that she made some technical changes to become a more consistent and better player. I can???t wait to see how she will perform this year with these new techniques in hand. She will challenge for either the libero or a defensive specialist, in addition to providing us with depth at setter.???
One of the strongest positions for UT will be at middle blocker, with sophomores Leah Hinkey, Carol Cheade and Farren Powe, as well as senior Joselyn Johnson and freshman Krista Brenner, all vying for time on the court.
Hinkey will be looked at to take on the difficult task of replacing Blum, the school???s all-time and single-season blocks leader. With a year of valuable experience under her belt, the Glenwood Springs, Colo., product looks as if she is up to the challenge. A starter from day one, Hinkey earned mention on the SEC All-Freshman squad after finishing seventh in the league with 1.19 blocks per game. She also tallied the third-most blocks on the team with 133, and the fifth-most kills with 221.
???Leah has really surprised me this off -season. She has taken the bull by the horns and become much more of a vocal leader than I ever thought she would at this point in her career. She has always been an athletic player, but she has taken her athleticism and strength to another level. I look for her to have an incredible breakout season, not only as an attacker but as a blocker as well. She has worked very hard on her technique and I am really eager to watch her play at the net defensively. I am also very excited about the chemistry she has with our setter, Jena Berg. It reminds me a lot of Kristen Andre and Julie Knytych in that they have a feel for each other on the court.???
After improving by leaps and bounds during the off -season, fellow second-year
Lady Vols Cheade and Powe will both be counted on to provide quality play around the net. Cheade arrived in Knoxville from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and played in 19 matches for Tennessee during her rookie campaign, recording 31 kills and 18 blocks.
???Carol is a player who has come in and worked very hard in the weight room to put herself in a position, physically, to play at a higher level than she ever has,??? Patrick said. ???She was able to increase her vertical jump over four inches and can now play at the net against anybody in the country. She will provide us with tremendous depth at middle and outside hitter, and we are preparing her to be able to play any of the front row positions.???
Powe has also progressed steadily throughout her time at Rocky Top. In 2006, the former Alabama State Player of the Year, saw action in five contests, hitting at an impressive .409 clip with 11 kills.
???Farren came into our program as more of a raw athlete than an experienced volleyball player,??? Patrick said. ???After going through our weight training program this off-season she was also able to gain more than four inches in her vertical jump. We will need Farren on the court in some form to allow our team to play against the top teams in the country. She is an elite athlete who can compete at the net against anyone. She can give us a presence that we wouldn???t necessarily have without her. She has become a more versatile hitter, taking swings as both an outside and middle hitter. We will try to use her in a variety of roles offensively this season.???
Following a difficult, injury-filled junior season, Johnson will once again be used as an energy-boost off the bench. The Muncie, Ind., native played in just 13 matches last year but was one of the Lady Vols most vocal leaders.
???We will really rely on Joselyn???s leadership this season,??? Patrick said. ???She also will provide depth at middle hitter and be able to help our young players at that position through any problems that they might have. Last year, we used her as a spark off the bench. When one of our middles wasn???t playing well, we put Joselyn in there and she made things happen, whether she got us out of a tough rotation or sparked us to score a couple of points in a row. We are hoping that she can play that role on this team again this year.???
Another candidate to step into the lineup for the Big Orange is Brenner, who comes to Tennessee with an impressive list of credentials. The tallest player on the UT roster in 2007 at 6-4, Brenner was rated No. 52 among all high school seniors by PrepVolleyball.com. After claiming MVP honors as a freshman at Jim Elliot Christian H.S., the Valley Springs, Calif., native guided her team to the playoff s in each of the next three seasons, being named all-league in 2004 and to the all-tournament team in 2005.
???We feel that Krista is going to develop into a very dominant defensive player for us,??? Patrick said. ???Eventually, she will play the same type of a role that Sarah Blum did during her career, in that we will match her up against the opposing team???s top hitters in order to stop them or slow them down. Krista has some of the same physical attributes as Sarah and works extremely hard on the court to close a block and present herself in transition. She needs to increase her strength base, but once she does that she will develop into a consistent performer for us.???
The position with arguably the most depth on the team will be outside hitter. Patrick will have the difficult task of assigning playing time to no fewer than five talented athletes in two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-America senior Yuliya Stoyanova, juniors Mindy Flynn and Milan Clarke, sophomore Kylie Marshall and freshman Nikki Fowler.
Although Stoyanova missed four matches at the end of last season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, her contributions to the Tennessee volleyball team still merited mention as an American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American for the second straight season, as well as a member of the All-SEC Second Team. The product of Sofia, Bulgaria, has put together one of the most successful careers in UT history and can be found in the top-10 on a number of all-time records charts. Her career average of 3.75 kills per game is the third-highest recorded at Rocky Top, while her attacks per game average of 9.55 per contest is also third on the career charts. Stoyanova also stands 10th all-time in blocks per game with an average of 0.82.
???Yuliya will be one of the most important players on our team this year,??? Patrick said. ???With over 300 games of experience, she is the one person who we can put on the court in every situation. She does not get rattled by anything that happens, because she???s seen it all. The sooner she can get back on the court, the more our team will be able to benefit from her experience level. She???s a six-rotation player who has seen time at both right side and outside for us throughout her career. That flexibility and her ability to get kills will provide much-needed stability to our lineup.???
Another valuable component to the Tennessee lineup will be Flynn, who became one of the Lady Vols??? go-to players last season. The only member of the team to play in all 119 games last season, Flynn posted double-digit kill totals in nine matches, including three of the team???s final four contests. The Louisville, Ky., native also was named MVP of the Comcast Lady Vol Classic after recording 25 kills with just one attack error in 53 attempts (.453 hitting percentage) over the course of the three-match tournament.
???Mindy is a player who is going to allow us to be very flexible in what we do offensively, because she can hit in all three front row rotations, and we feel comfortable leaving her in the back row,??? Patrick said. ???She gives us a lot of options as far as what offense we want to run as well as with our substitution patterns. The last two years she has done a great job playing on the right side, but she will see more time in the middle this season. She is one of our most competitive players as well as a very low error hitter. We will look to her to be a stabilizing force for the rest of our team as the season progresses.???
Clarke is another player who will be looked at for contributions both on the court and in the locker room. A high-energy athlete with natural volleyball skills, Clarke competed in 26 contests last season and pounded out 127 kills, good for almost two kills per game.
???Milan has worked extremely hard to prepare herself physically for this season,??? Patrick said. ???I am really looking forward to seeing how that will positively affect her play on the court. She also has worked really hard on her passing, becoming a more complete player and maturing as an outside hitter. The only thing that she needs to continue working on is her consistency in hitting. If she can do that, she will be very valuable in that she can provide us with kills. I am also very proud of the way that she has made the decision to step into the leadership void on our team and become more of a role model. No matter what role she plays on the court this season, she will be a very important part of our team???s dynamic.???
The team???s libero for a good part of the season in 2006, Marshall will likely play a larger role as an outside hitter for the Big Orange this year. Her ability to play all six rotations will be invaluable to the club, especially early in the year as the roles of players around her are being defined. Marshall played in every match during her rookie campaign, amassing the third-most digs on the squad with 325. The Puyallup, Wash., product is also the Lady Vols??? biggest serving threat, posting a team-high 24 aces last year.
???Kylie really came on strong at the end of last year and provided us with a great stabilizing force on the court,??? Patrick said. ???She always has had great ball-control skills and played at a high level defensively, which solidified our defense tremendously. What many people don???t realize is that she was also a very effective, low-error hitter and also really helped out our front-row play. She is extremely coachable, and we will provide her with some different offensive techniques in order to maximize her effectiveness in the front row. She has put herself in the position to be either a right side or outside player in our system, and I am excited to see her development during her sophomore year after gaining valuable match experience as a freshman.???
Although just a freshman, Fowler figures to be in the rotation very early in her career. One of the most highly-regarded recruits to ever come to Rocky Top, the Dallas, Texas, native was ranked as the 14th-best prep prospect in the nation on the PrepVolleyball.com Top 100 Senior Aces List and was named one of the Top 50 junior recruits by Volleyball Magazine. In 2006, Fowler led her high school team to a 36-3 record and the Region II Championship match, garnering All-Texas Second Team honors for the second consecutive season.
???I???m very excited about Nikki joining our program, as she brings a very high level of club experience into her play as a freshman. That will help her adapt to the college game quickly. She is in a position to challenge for a starting position this year. She can play all six rotations and be effective in the back row, not only passing and defending, but as an offensive option. She comes into our program as a middle hitter, but she has the ability to be effective on the outside as well. Just like any freshman, some of her biggest gains will be when she gets stronger through our weight program. That???s when she will really blossom.???
In the back row, sophomores Chloe Goldman, Loyd and Marshall will battle for the right to wear the libero jersey, while junior Laur??n LaFlamme will provide experience and depth at the defensive specialist position.
The extremely quick Goldman will look to build on the success she put together at the end of the 2006 campaign, as the Monterey, Calif., native recorded over half of her season total in digs during the final three contests. In her most impressive performance, Goldman tallied a career-high 13 digs against No. 7 Florida on Nov. 17.
???Last season, we didn???t really know if Chloe???s game was mature enough for her to play extensively as a freshman,??? Patrick said. ???She did a tremendous job of coming in right away and learning the defensive schemes and techniques that we teach, which allowed her to gain valuable experience last year. We will look at her to be either our libero or first person defensively coming off the bench. She???s probably our most instinctive player in terms of reading the play and putting herself in the best position to dig a ball. We will play a big role in our success this year with her ball control and passing. She has a motor that never quits running, which is exactly what you want in a player coming off the bench or as your libero.???
A co-captain in 2006, LaFlamme is an extremely hard worker and serves a positive influence on the younger members of the squad. Her knowledge and experience will prove invaluable to the team???s success this season.
???Laur??n???s role on this team is extremely important,??? Patrick said. ???As an experienced player with a very calming nature, she will play a vital role in the development of our young players who look to her for guidance. She has a maturity about her that most players don???t have which will provide our team with confidence and strength.???
The toughest challenge that Patrick???s charges will face in 2007 may very well be the schedule that has been put together for them. Of the Lady Vols??? 29 opponents, 15 reached the NCAA Tournament in 2006, while 10 finished in the top 50 of the season???s final RPI.
???Even with a very young team, we still felt confident putting together one of our toughest schedules ever,??? Patrick said. ???We have a number of incredible non-conference matches, including defending national champion Nebraska, and then we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country in the SEC. Our team is going to have to learn how to compete very quickly. How fast we are able to do that will be the difference in how successful we are going to be.???
The slate starts off with a bang, as Tennessee will travel to Omaha, Neb., to take part in the AVCA Showcase, featuring four of the nation???s top teams. The Big Orange will open the campaign with its toughest match of the year, facing defending national champion Nebraska in its home state and at the same site at which it claimed its third NCAA title. Depending on the outcome of that match, UT will then take on either UCLA, the Huskers??? fellow 2006 Final Four participant, or Utah, which has reached the NCAA Tournament in nine consecutive seasons.
The following weekend, the Orange and White will return to the friendly confines of Stokely Athletics Center to host the Comcast Lady Vol Classic. Making the trip to Rocky Top will be Appalachian State, Belmont and Indiana. The Mountaineers finished in a tie for second in the Southern Conference with an impressive 23-10 record, while the
Bruins were the Atlantic Sun Conference runner-up with a 24-7 mark. The Hoosiers struggled in 2006 but look to be on the upswing under newly-appointed head coach and former Lady Vol assistant Sherry Dunbar.
The final tune-up before the daunting SEC schedule begins will be the State Farm Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. UT will face Creighton in the tournament???s opening contest before taking on either host-team Illinois or Marquette. The Blue Jays return all six starters as well as their starting libero, from last year???s squad which finished 21-10. The Golden Eagles and Fighting Illini, meanwhile, fashioned records of 16-15 and 15-15 in 2006, respectively.
In other non-conference action, the Lady Vols will travel to the Bluegrass State to face Louisville on Oct. 16 and welcome Notre Dame to Knoxville on Nov. 23. Although the Cardinals posted an incredible 25-6 record last year, Tennessee was one of the teams to give them a loss. The Fighting Irish will bring an experienced squad to the UT campus, as six starters return from last season???s team that finished 18- 14.
The possibilities for the 2007 team are limitless. The opportunities are endless. The Lady Vol squads in each of the past three seasons have stepped up to the challenge and left their mark on the program. For the players on this year???s team, it is time to do the same. It is time for them to ???Create a New Legacy.???
