I don’t know about you, but 2020 has been a weird year for me! (You think having to wear a mask is crazy? Due to an injury I’ve had to cover up even more of my face for the past couple of weeks!) We may be living in “unprecedented times” as all the commercials were telling us, but all I want to do is eat in an actual restaurant, stop washing my hands, and touch my face!

No one knows what might happen next, but until then lets just look back over some of the offseason news… “apart, but together”.

• Congratulations to those who graduated this spring: Alyssa Andreno (Recreation & Sport Management), Tessa Grubbs (Therapeutic Recreation), and Sedona Hansen (Marketing).

• Nine Lady Vols were named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll: Alyssa Andreno, Ava Bell, Lily Felts, Tessa Grubbs, Danielle Mahaffey, Giana Pellizzon, Raquel Perinar, Asha Phillips, Addisyn Rowe.

Tennessee has placed at least five players on the SEC Fall Academic Honor every year since 1996 — a number no other league school can match. The team is one of only two schools to have placed a member on the team every year since the list’s inception in 1983. UT has had 214 honorees all-time, just four shy of leading the conference.

• The team was also honored with the NCAA’s APR Public Recognition Award, given for scoring in the top 10% of their sport in the most recent Academic Progress Rate results.

• Tennessee has officially announced two transfers during the offseason: Natalie Hayward (DePaul) and Carissa Bradford (Pacific). RichKern.com lists Nicoletta Capizzi (Eastern Washington) as also heading to Knoxville.

• UT earned Highest Honorable Mention in PrepVolleyball’s annual recruiting class rankings. The Lady Vols have appeared in these recruiting rankings every season since the list’s inception in 2003, except for one (2004).

• Congrats to Alyssa Andreno who was named UT’s female winner of the SEC Community Service Award.

• UT’s Voleaders Academy has expanded this year, and three volleyball players will take part in the “year-long leadership curriculum… [that] …concludes with an international cultural exchange trip in the summer”: Kailey Keeble, Giana Pellizzon, and Danielle Mahaffey.

• Sedona Hansen has joined the Boise State beach volleyball team for the 2021 season as a graduate transfer.

• Coach Eve Rackham gave an interview to the 35,000 Feet podcast. She discusses: the 2019 season, how she got into coaching, her favorite travel experience, her advice to athletes wanting to play in college, and what’s next.

• Tennessee hasn’t officially released its 2020 schedule, but several of their opponents have. While things could change due to the pandemic, here are some of the publicly announced matches the team has scheduled this year:

– Jacksonville State / Sept 2 / Jacksonville AL
– Morehead State / Sept 4 / Knoxville TN
– Texas A&M / Oct 16 / College Station TX
– Arkansas / Oct 21 / Knoxville TN
– Arkansas / Nov 8 / Fayetteville AR