The last freshman in our look at Lady Vol newcomers is Kanisha Jimenez, a 6’1″ outside and right side hitter from Disciples of Christ Academy in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Unfortunately most of the info I was able to collect about her was in Spanish. So I’ll have to rely much more on her UT bio and barely-better-than-nothing Google Translations (apologies in advance for any errors with that).

From UT: “The 6-foot-1 outside hitter is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico and has competed for the country’s junior national and national teams, earning bronze medal honors at the Norcerca Continental Championship in 2013. She represented Puerto Rico at the U-20 World Cup last summer, and made her national team debut this past fall in the Grand Prix of the International Volleyball Federation. Jimenez led her high school team, Disciples of Christ, to three Copa Nuevo Dia championships, as well as a runner-up finish.”

Coach Patrick on Jimenez: “Kanisha is going to come in with maybe the most international, high-level volleyball experience of any recruit we’ve had in quite some time. She’s a 6-1 outside hitter who has started for their junior national team and has trained and traveled with Puerto Rico’s national team. She is going to be very comfortable with the physicality and speed of the game when she walks in the door here. We expect her to be able to have a big impact on our team very early because of that experience she brings in. She’s somebody that can play on either pin on either the rightside or outside effectively. She will present a really physical presence at the net as a hitter and blocker, but she’s also somebody that can be very prominent in the back row.”

Jimenez on visiting Tennessee: “Me fue muy bien y la experiencia fue brutal… eso sí, hacía mucho frío, pero me fue bien! En la primera visita conocí al dirigente y a las jugadoras y realicé un recorrido del campus. Esta vez pasé más tiempo con el equipo y pude ver un juego de ellas y uno de fútbol (americano), al igual que cenar con el entrenador.” [Google translation: “It was very good to me and the experience was brutal … yes, it was very cold, but I was good! On the first visit I met the manager and the players and did a tour of the campus. This time I spent more time with the team and I could see a game and one of them (American) football, as well as dinner with the coach.”]

Jimenez on why she chose Tennessee over other options: “Hawái me encantó y, junto con Tennessee, Rice University y FIU, ésas eran las universidades principales en mi lista. Pero algo le vi a la Universidad de Tennessee que me encantó y decidí quedarme, además de que tienen una buena escuela de leyes, que es lo que voy a estudiar.” [Google translation: “Hawaii I loved, and along with Tennessee, Rice University, and FIU, those were the major universities on my list. But something I saw the University of Tennessee that I loved and decided to stay, plus they have a good law school, that’s what I’m going to study.”]

photos from worldofvolley.com / primerahora.com / norceca.net