After the long offseason, and a longer than usual start of season on the road, the Lady Vols finally take the court in Knoxville tonight. Here is some last minute info:

• The Knoxville News-Sentinel profiles Lady Vol defensive specialist Claudia Coco today while coach Rob Patrick talks about how the new players this year are going to give the team more options on the court than they had last year.
• Coach Patrick was on local radio station WNML this morning to promote the Lady Vol Classic. Topics discussed included: finally playing at home, reasons behind the schedule, how hard the team has worked since January, the competitive practices, the weekend’s opponents, and how this year’s incoming class is similar to 2002, with inexperienced but talented athletic players who will improve and build to bigger and better things as their careers progress. The audio of the broadcast will be online this morning at the show’s website under the 9:00-9:15 segment. (Audio is usually deleted after a day.)
• Tennessee has several promotions for this weekend. Tonight all tickets are just $1 and hotdogs and small drinks will be just $1 through the intermission. On Saturday donate two school supplies at either match and you’ll receive free admission. And on Saturday night the first 100 people to donate school supplies will get a free hotdog.
• Coach Patrick usually does a “chalk talk” for fans 45 minutes before most home games. However, other than a mention on UT’s volleyball tickets page, I haven’t heard if that’s going to continue this season or not.
• Tennessee doesn’t have “season tickets” for volleyball, but if you head to the ticket office (right below the volleyball parking area at Thompson Boling Arena) during business hours you can pre-buy a ticket to every home match for just $29.
• Match notes, a video preview, a live blog, and more are online at the official site.
• UPDATE: UT has posted a story titled A Welcome Homecoming For Tennessee that focuses on the transition the newcomers to Rocky Top have faced, moving from high school and club to college — and having to contribute so early in their careers.