While we fans have to suffer from volleyball withdrawal, the team itself in keeping very busy!

– Tennessee has announced former Lady Vol Erica Lear has been named assistant coach. Lear played in Knoxville from 1998 to 2001 and still holds several school assists records. Coach Rob Patrick said about her: “I’m very excited to have Erica come back to the Lady Vol family and bring her many talents to our program. She is someone who understands what Tennessee volleyball is about, and I’m confident that she will be able to impart Tennessee volleyball to our current and incoming players. She understands how special it is to be a part of the Lady Vol family. She was one of the most instrumental recruits I’ve ever had, and was one of the main reasons we were able to turn the fortunes of the Tennessee volleyball program around when she came to play here in 1998.”

What better way to welcome her back to the fold than to potentially embarrass her by pulling up photos from her freshman season! (In the team photo below she’s sitting on the far left.)

– The university has (finally!) broken ground on a new dedicated volleyball practice facility. This will be the first time in program history the volleyball team has had its own space. Patrick said, “This is something that has been in the works for a while. I really appreciate the administration, Mr. Hart and Mr. Gilbert working very hard over a long period of time to get this done. It’s really for the players. They have a place now to call home. It’s a place they can go and really feel like they can own. It’s going to make a difference in recruiting and the way we are able to train. I can’t thank my assistants enough or the players that came before for the obstacles they’ve had to overcome and still be able to be successful.” Photos, videos, blueprints and more can be found in a feature piece called “A Place to Call Home“.

– Lady Vol senior Ellen Mullins was one of over 240 athletes from around the country to participate in the Women’s National Team tryouts. She said, “I’m so excited to see all the girls I saw last summer. Everyone that was there last summer was so good and talented. I’m looking forward to seeing them and playing with the best that’s in Colorado Springs. I’m really excited to go.” Selections will be announced this month.

– Freshman Jamie Lea was named the Outstanding Female Athlete at the Black Cultural Programming Committee’s Annual African-American Image Awards. “It is such an honor to be recognized by my class and peers for this award. I thank God for blessing me with my talent, my teammates and coaches for helping me to achieve this award, and my family and friends for supporting me throughout my freshman season”, she said. She won the award over women’s basketball’s Isabelle Harrison and Andraya Carter, and track & field’s Amirah Johnson.

Hopefully my schedule for the next few months will be to post a news update like this the first week of the month and then a feature piece the third week of the month, so hopefully they’ll be new content here at least every other week! As always be sure to follow the official UT website and Twitter account for the latest info as it’s available.