University of Tennessee Athletics
A Welcome Homecoming For Tennessee
September 18, 2014 | Volleyball
Kendra Turner started out her freshman season at UT watching from the sidelines, seeing action in just two sets over the first six matches of the year. But after providing a spark against Omaha in the final match at the Iowa State Challenge, Turner seized a starting spot. A spot she doesn't plan on giving back.
"I saw that they were missing a piece and I thought I had it," Turner said. "When I got the chance to actually show them, I felt like `Yeah, this is exactly what we need.' It felt really good."
It felt good for the head coach as well.
"She's a player that had been stating out very well in our practices, so then you get a shot," Rob Patrick said. "We were in a situation where we needed to make a little change in the lineup and we put her in and she delivered. We saw what she was able to do in those matches and that has carried over."
Turner has started the last four matches for the Lady Vols, with a breakout performance against Kennesaw State. Against the Owls, she put down a match and career-high 19 kills on 40 swings for a remarkable attack percentage of .375.
"I've felt good getting into it," Turner said. "I knew I could bring a positive vibe to playing with the girls."
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A young Tennessee team is trying to find its way early in the season. Heard that before?
But this isn't football, it's Rob Patrick's Lady Volunteer volleyball team. And unlike football, the young team was not able to get their feet under them at home. They began the season with 10 consecutive road matches, making the opening home weekend at the Dish Lady Vol Classic a happy homecoming.
For the Tennessee freshmen, the weekend is the first time to step on to the home court at Thompson-Boling Arena, a place where they are still refining their craft and making the transition to the demands of the college game.
"It was a big transition from high school to college," middle blocker Iesha Bryant said. "I came here and it was like everything I knew in high school was wrong and I just started playing volleyball for the first time. I'm picking up on things really well. Rob and all the coaches are great, staying after practice to get extra reps in. I just keep working day by day, getting better every day."
The thought of Bryant still learning the finer points of blocking technique at the college level is a frightening proposition for opponents. The Carthage, Texas-native leads Tennessee with 40 blocks on the season, a 1.25 blocks per set average, while having committed just one blocking error. She has proven equally adept at putting the ball down, with 42 kills, a 1.31 average.
Fellow freshman Kanisha Jimenez brings a wealth of international experience with her from Puerto Rico, but has faced a similar adjustment to the details of the college game.
"It's been really hard," Jimenez said. "I've had to work really hard to earn my place on the court. It's very different and I like it. The details are the big deal here, it's difficult to fix things and learn new things in the gym."
The difficult transition is a normal for freshmen coming in to a college system, but head coach Rob Patrick, in his 17th season at Tennessee, has been impressed with the progress this class has made.
"Every single player we bring in here was the best player on their club team, the best player on their high school team," said Patrick. "They are so athletic they can get away with not doing everything the right way and making up for it with their athleticism. Now they're playing against players, even in practice, that are on their level. Now, the little things make a difference. It's a process for them because they have to make the little details important, that's a normal transition for a freshman. These are very coachable kids, and I'm excited about that."
Jimenez has earned her place as a six-rotation player, meaning she has had to work on her technique both at the net and defensively in the back row. That is a challenge she and the other freshmen have embraced, and one they have embraced together.
"This freshman class is big and good," Jimenez said of the six-player class, part of a group of eight newcomers in 2014. "We're always together and learning things together. Even though we're freshmen, we have to play like we're not."
Stepping up to contribute right away was something that Patrick was counting on from this class from its first day on campus, after a rare postseason spent at home in 2013, breaking a five-year NCAA Tournament streak.
"One of the things we needed that we didn't have last year was depth," Patrick said. "It's great to have players on your team, but depth is having players that can play. These players have the ability and have shown they can play already as freshmen. They are players that have really bolstered our team at all positions. They've added a lot already in their short careers here."
The success they have experienced so far has only made the freshman class hungrier to get out on the court each day to improve.
"I know we're all going to be here together learning," Bryant said. "We're good right now while we're learning. Once we do learn it all, we'll be unstoppable."
