University of Tennessee Athletics
Volleyball's 2015 Prep Led by Seniors
August 24, 2015 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Though official team practices have only been on court since Aug. 8, volleyball coach Rob Patrick says his team is well ahead of its usual preseason preparation curve.
Seniors Lexi Dempsey and Megan Hatcher saw to it that the team worked on its own in the summer months to get ready.
"When they're your oldest players and leaders, really good things happen when you have those type of people in that position," Patrick said. "They've been fantastic. They're some of the reasons why our practices have been so good and the effort has been so high."
Now the time to compete has almost arrived as the Volunteers travel to the Towson Invitational for four meets this weekend. The team squares off against Delaware State on Friday at 12:15 p.m. to officially start the year.
The path to Friday's opener started in the weight room and courts during the offseason. Much of the team was in Knoxville during summer school, and evenings were spent scrimmaging and practicing among themselves with Dempsey and Hatcher leading the way.
The Joan Cronan Volleyball Center has also played a large part in team development. For the first offseason in program history, the squad had a place to practice daily. The facility opened last October.
Hatcher said the new digs gave was convenient not having to share court space around town with other teams or sports. Also, it certainly beat having to crank up nets every time they wanted to practice, as was the case in the past.
"Having three courts lets us do so much," Dempsey added. "We can do so much different positional work. We can even play different minigames nonstop, which is nice."
While veterans lead the team this year, the roster is a good mix of young and old. There are 10 returners and seven newcomers on the roster, including four freshmen.
"I think the energy and just how fresh they are to college brings a good vibe to the team," Hatcher said. "It's a reminder of what it's like to be new and excited to be here, and it's always good for us as older people to know that."
