Tennessee has (finally!) released the full volleyball media guide. The guide is available in PDF format on the official site.

The first CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll of the regular season was was released today. The Lady Vols still didn’t make the top 25 cut, but they did receive more votes than they did in the preseason poll after upsetting #21 Utah. Extrapolating beyond 25 places with the remaining votes puts Tennessee at #29, 15 spots up from the last poll.

Other SEC teams on the list include: #7 Florida (+/-0), #22 LSU (+1), and #39 Mississippi (+1). Other ranked teams on Tennessee’s remaining schedule are: #26 Louisville (+/-0) and #36 Notre Dame (-7).

The full top 25 follows.

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• Tennessee is 0-5 against Nebraska.
• Tennessee is 4-0 vs Utah.
• Tennessee is 0-5 against #1 teams.
• Tennessee is 26-8 (.765) all-time in season openers.
• Tennessee’s win against Utah was the first time since November 26, 2005, that they have won a match that went to five games.
• Tennessee’s 10-30 loss in the first game of the Utah match was the most lopsided loss of every Lady Vol on the current roster’s career.
• With 11,076 in attendance for the Utah game and 10,158 in attendance for the Nebraska game, these matches were the top two largest crowds to ever attend a Lady Vols game.

Career bests matched or exceeded this weekend:
• Jena Berg: kills, attacks, hitting percentage, assists, digs, and blocks
• Milan Clarke: kills and blocks
• Mindy Flynn: blocks
• Nikki Fowler: kills, attacks, hitting percentage, assists, aces, digs, and blocks
• Chloe Goldman: assists and digs
• Leah Hinkey: assists, digs, and blocks
• Farren Powe: kills, attacks, and hitting percentage

Lady Vols junior Milan Clarke was named to the AVCA Showcase All-Tournament Team. Clarke had a hitting percentage of .238 (16-6-42) during the consolation game against Utah. She also set or tied career best records for kills and blocks. The tournament MVP was Sarah Pavan of Nebraska. Also making the All-Tournament Team were: Jordan Larson, Nebraska; Tracy Stalls, Nebraska; Nellie Spicer, UCLA; Ali Daley, UCLA; and Connie Dangerfield, Utah.

Congratulations to the Lady Vols on their first win of the season! With the upset of #21 Utah, Tennessee gets a 3rd place finish in the AVCA Showcase. Final score was 3-2 (10-30, 30-25, 23-30, 30-23, 18-16).

UPDATES: The Nebraska website has the story of the game and the box score.

Tennessee has a story up as well.

Coach Patrick: That was a really good win for this young group. When I went in the locker room, all I could think of was how proud I was of them. These are the types of games and matches that we lost last year. When we came back in the offseason, all our team wanted was for that not to happen again.

While the consolation game for the AVCA showcase, featuring Tennessee vs #21 Utah, will not be broadcast on TV, live stats from the game MIGHT be available on the Nebraska athletic website.

UPDATE: Live stats are available at the link above.

After ordering season tickets the week they became available back in July, mine finally arrived in the mail yesterday. So if you have not received yours, hopefully they will be there very soon – especially since Tennessee’s home opener is in just 6 days!

Tennessee lost their opening match of the season to defending national champion and current #1 Nebraska 3-0 at the AVCA Showcase. The Lady Vols will play #21 Utah in the consolation round Saturday night.

The Nebraska website has the box score as well as some quotes form the coaches and players.

Coach Patrick: I saw glimpses of some really good things with our team. We couldn’t sustain them, and we’re going to chalk this match up as a chance to test ourselves against one of the top two or three teams in the country. We’re going to get back in the gym and get a lot better. I see glimpses of some things that say we can be very successful.

UPDATE: Tennessee has a story about the game up now.

It’s opening day for Tennessee volleyball! The Lady Vols will take on the defending national champion and current #1 team in the country – Nebraska. The game will air live on CSTV at 9:30pm ET.

The Knoxville News Sentinel takes a quick look at the new season and tonight’s game in particular.

And be sure to check out the two Lady Vol volleyball videos over on the official site – one a video preview of the season, the other on new assistant coach Katie Noble. Click here to get to the multimedia page. When there, click the PLAY NOW button to launch the player. In the new window click the play buttons next to the volleyball videos to watch.

The official Lady Vols website has posted the material mentioned in the previous entry on their website along with a PDF file containing 2006 Tennessee stats and roster info for all the teams in this weekend’s AVCA Showcase. The file also contains the updated player photos for the current season.

WVLT, the local Knoxville CBS affiliate, has an article up on their website chock full of trivia about the Lady Vols volleyball team. Some interesting bits include:

• This Friday will mark the fifth time Tennessee has faced the #1 team in the country. They lost all previous encounters.

• Tennessee is 26-7 all-time in season openers.

• The 2007 Lady Vols senior class, consisting of Yuliya Stoyanova and Joselyn Johnson, has a 76-24 (.760) record making it the most successful senior class in school history in their first three years.

• Coach Rob Patrick is only 19 wins away from becoming the all-time winningest volleyball coach at Tennessee. (The Lady Vols won 19 games in 2006.)

Check the article for much, much more!

Another highly anticipated season is expected from the Southeastern Conference in the sport of volleyball. Coming off of a record seven bids to the NCAA Tournament, the 2007 season is expected to pick up right where 2006 left off with competitive teams and determined coaches. Over the next two days, we will preview the 11 teams by division with a brief prospectus and team information. The Eastern Division teams are featured today: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee… — SEC Sports

UPDATE: The SEC West preview is now available.

I meant to post early on about this but better late than never! Be sure to check out the official Lady Vols volleyball website if you have not done so. The site features a great archive of past Lady Vols news and stats. And during the season box scores from the game will be posted there as well. Most of the stats on my roster page and the head shots of the players come from there. Creating this site would have been a lot harder, if not impossible, without the official site so be sure to make that a regular stop!

UPDATE: I posted this original message about an hour ago and it appears that around midnight the entire Lady Vols website got a face lift! Tighter layout, nicer graphics, some cool navigation features, but all the same great content. Unfortunately it looks like some links have changed though. But definitely give it a look even if you’re already a regular visitor!

The official Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball website has a great, in-depth look at all the players on the 2007 squad with comments on each by Coach Patrick. This is a must read for all Tennessee fans!

In each of the past three seasons, University of Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick has guided his squad to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the regional semifinals in 2004 and the Final Four in 2005. Many of the leaders from those teams, however, have graduated and a youthful squad is set to take the court for the Orange and White in 2007, as nine of the team’s 14 members are either freshmen or sophomores. Past precedent of success has been set. There is a tradition to uphold. For these players, the 2007 campaign serves as a perfect opportunity for them to leave their own mark on the program… to “Create a New Legacy.”

ESPN.com has a feature on this week’s AVCA Showcase. The article discusses some history of the event, possible changes in its format, and competition from other games this year.

A second article looks at the possible contenders for the Division I national championship this year.