Photos from senior weekend are now online. (I may be biased, but does that first picture feature the best back row rotation in the SEC or what?)

Three other stories were posted earlier today before this long post, so scroll down to see them!

Tennessee now leads Arkansas 16-14 all-time but still trails LSU 19-33.

The Lady Vols hit .436 vs LSU. That ranks as the 6th best performance of the rally scoring era. Earlier this year UT also had the 5th and 7th best team hitting percentages of that time frame.

The team outhit LSU by .300 points — the 4th time they’ve done that to an opponent this year.

Tennessee had just 7 hitting errors vs LSU. Only 3 matches in the past decade have had fewer (one of those matches was earlier this year).

UT has only defeated LSU twice in the same season one time previously — 1984. This year is the first time where they’ve gotten both wins in the regular season.

With their 18th regular season SEC win this weekend, the team shattered its record for conference wins previously set in 2009 at 16.

The Lady Vols picked up their 25th win of the year for the 11th time in school history, the 4th time in the last quarter century, and the 4th time under Coach Rob Patrick. This is just the 8th time they reached the mark in the regular season.

For the second time this season the Lady Vols have won 11 matches in a row. Those streaks tie for the 4th longest winning streaks in school history.

UT ALL TIME WIN STREAKS
1980	22	Bob Bertucci
1973	20	Kaye Hart
2004	14	Rob Patrick
2011	11	Rob Patrick
2011	11	Rob Patrick
1986	11	Bob Bertucci
1982	11	Bob Bertucci

UT has earned their 10th conference win in a row. That now stands as the single regular season standard, and ties for the most consecutive SEC wins in a season including the tournament.

The team is 12-0 at home this year, with one more match to go in Thompson Boling Arena. That ties for the 3rd most regular season home wins in program history and the most in the last 28 years.

UT REGULAR SEASON HOME WINS
1983	20-3
1981	15-2
2011	12-0
2010	12-2
2009	12-1

In what will be the last update to this list for a little while, Coach Patrick has now moved into 3rd place on the winningest SEC coach in conference history chart.

SEC CAREER COACHING RECORDS*
1	Mary Wise	Florida 1991-	655-74
2	Fran Flory	Kentucky 1993-1997 LSU 1998- Total 1993-	78-80 266-156 344-236
3	Rob Patrick	Tennessee 1997-	318-153
	Sid Feldman	Georgia 1978-1988	318-135
4	Chris Poole	Arkansas 1994-2007	316-161
5	Scott Luster	LSU 1985-1997	308-161
* these are career wins while at an SEC school, not just conference wins

Just to clear up something because it’s being written several different ways, and technically all of them have been right, though confusing: The wins this weekend secured Tennessee’s 5th SEC Championship. It is also their 2nd regular season SEC Championship. And if they win on Wednesday it is also their 1st outright regular season SEC Championship! The first 3 championships came in 1981, 1982, and 1984 when UT won the conference tournament. According to the SEC, prior to 1986 the SEC Tournament Champion was declared the league champion. In 2004, UT shared a regular season title with Florida.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS:

Tiffany Baker got her 50th block vs LSU.

Nikki Brice scored her 25th point vs Arkansas and served her 25th ace vs LSU.

Leslie Cikra had her 600th career kill and her 50th block of the year vs LSU.

DeeDee Harrison got her 500th career kill vs LSU.

Ellen Mullins moved up to #7 on the single season digs chart and scored her 25th career point vs LSU.

Mary Pollmiller is now #10 on the single season assists list. She also made her 200th attack and got her 1300th assist vs LSU.

Kelsey Robinson moved into 6th place on the single season attack chart and #18 on the season digs chart. She also made her 1800th career attack attempt, her 350th dig of the year, and her 50th block of the year vs LSU.

DOUBLE DOUBLES:

Kelsey Robinson: 16 kills and 13 digs vs LSU (20th of 2011, 24th of career)

CAREER RECORDS MATCHED OR EXCEEDED:

Tiffany Baker: hitting percentage, block assists, total blocks

DeeDee Harrison: hitting percentage (with 5-9 attempts)

Shealyn Kolosky: hitting percentage (with 5-9 attempts)

Congratulations to Kelsey Robinson on winning the SEC Offensive Player of the Week award and Tiffany Baker on being named the SEC Freshman of the Week! More very soon…

UPDATE: This is Robinson’s 3rd Offensive Player of the Week award of the year and the 5th SEC weekly award of her career. She has won the Offensive weekly honor more than any other player this season.

This is Baker’s 1st Freshman of the Week award, but she won the Offensive Player of the Week award earlier this year.

Tennessee players have now won a conference weekly award 12 times this season. The next most this year is 7. In SEC history only Florida in 2008 has won more weekly awards when they won 13. UT’s previous record was 8 awards in a year set back in 2008. Earlier this year the Lady Vols tied the league record for most different individuals honored with 6.

For the second time this season the AVCA voters have dropped the Lady Vols in the poll after a weekend of wins. This time UT falls one spot to #15 after two sweeps and clinching the conference title. More poll updates soon.

UPDATE: UT is up 2 spots to #13 in the latest RPI, down 1 spot to #15 in the RichKern.com Poll, and up 1 spot to #13 in Pablo.

Coach Rob Patrick will address the media today to discuss the team clinching a share of the SEC title and the opportunity to win the league outright this Wednesday. I have no voice so won’t be able to cover it in person. But the press conferences are broadcast live online here, assuming they don’t turn off the feed after the football part.

UPDATES: View the video of the press conference online. And the transcript is here.

With a sweep of LSU (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) the Lady Vols have clinched a share of the SEC title! More soon…

UPDATES: I lost my voice yesterday but thankfully the team didn’t need any extra crowd encouragement as they get their 13th sweep of the year. Kelsey Robinson notched season double double #20 with 16 kills and 13 digs. Tiffany Baker had a nice all around afternoon with 11 kills (and no errors), a .524 hitting percentage, 8 digs, and 4 blocks. Leslie Cikra and DeeDee Harrison both had 8 kills. Cikra hit .438 while Harrison put back 5 blocks. Shealyn Kolosky earned her 2nd highest hitting percentage, a .667, with 4 kills and no errors on 6 attempts. Mary Pollmiller had 40 assists and 6 digs. And Ellen Mullins picked up 8 digs. The Lady Vols out hit LSU .436 to .136. (corrected)

I’ll have more on this weekend’s matches and the fifth SEC Championship in school history tomorrow.

UT STORY, STATS, VIDEO, AND PHOTOS | LSU STORY | KNOXNEWS STORY

It’s time to look back at the career of the senior leaving Rocky Top this season: Kelsey Mahoney. Tennessee has lost six setters since 2005 for various reasons, only one (a two year juco transfer) to graduation. Though she didn’t see much playing time this season due to injury, Mahoney is the first four year setter at UT since 2005. She’s brought some welcome stability to a very important position on the team.

Running a 6-2 offense with Michaela Hanakova, Mahoney debuted in Milwaukee at the Marquette Kick-off Classic. She contributed 12 assists and 4 digs to the sweep of Chattanooga. Over the next two matches vs Houston and Marquette she had 23 and 25 assists respectively. She also notched 2 aces in each match — another skill she’d lead her team in. In Denver she put up 20 assists vs Iowa and then 23 vs Virginia. She earned her first double double against #17 Illinois with 26 assists and 10 digs, then got another a week later in her SEC debut vs Mississippi State with 19 assists and 11 digs. Two days later she added 23 more assists vs Alabama. Over the next 2 weeks she put down at least 2 aces each match in a 4 match stretch. She got a then career high 32 assists in a match vs Kentucky. Then picked up another double double with 28 assists and 16 digs vs Louisville. She had a big weekend vs Mississippi and Arkansas, getting a double double vs the Rebels with 21 assists and 10 digs, then getting a then career high 24 assists vs the Razorbacks. Those performances earned her the SEC Freshman of the Week award. Over the next month Mahoney would reach 20+ assists 5 more times, culminating in a 34 assists match vs South Carolina. She broke that career record a week and a half later in an upset of #17 Kentucky with 36 assists. She put up another double double in her first NCAA Tournament match with 29 assists and 12 digs in a losing effort vs Clemson. All in all the freshman led the team in assists and aces. She joined the team in Florida for the second annual SEC Beach Volleyball Championships. She and teammate Kayla Jeter went 2-4 in pool play, won their first round game, but lost in second round. Mahoney ended her first year of college being named to the SEC Freshmen Academic Honor Roll.

She picked up right where she’d left off in 2009, tallying 75 assists over 3 matches at the Lady Vol Classic, splitting setting duties with Emily Steinbeck. She served up 3 aces vs Lipscomb, two matches later had 3 more vs Notre Dame, then 2 matches later had 4 aces vs North Carolina. Starting vs the Tarheels, she notched double doubles in 3 of the next 4 matches, with 68 assists and 36 digs. She had another big match vs Louisville, with 34 assists and 4 aces. Against a #7 Kentucky squad, she put up 27 assists in an upset, then had 33 a week later vs #20 LSU. In October, fellow setter Steinbeck was sidelined due to an injury. Backup Natalie Guerra joined Mahoney for a few matches, but by the middle of November Mahoney had taken over the setting duties alone. She notched 4 double doubles over the last 6 matches of the regular season. And, running a 5-1, added several new career highs to her stats, including 53 assists and 19 digs vs Auburn, and then 57 assists vs Georgia. She entered the UT record books after that match, jumping into the top ten in career assists. In two big upsets within days of each other, she had 46 assists and 14 digs vs #13 Florida, and 49 assists and 10 digs vs #10 Kentucky. All told, in 6 of the last 7 matches of the year she put up at least 40 assists every match. Once again, Mahoney led the team in assists and aces. In the offseason she joined partner Jasmine Brown at the SEC Beach Tournament. And she was named to the 2009 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

In her junior year, Mahoney would split time back in the 6-2 with Steinbeck and freshman Kylann Scheidt. She earned her first double double of the season just a week in with 22 assists and 10 digs vs Oklahoma. A week later playing two matches in one day she had 60 assists and 17 digs vs Northwestern and Ohio, getting a double double vs the Bobcats. The next day she added in 28 assists vs Pitt. Against South Carolina then again vs Arkansas she and both other setters played and all 3 got double digit assists. She got her last double double vs #15 LSU with 31 assists and 12 digs. Then picked up 22 assists against both Mississippi State and Alabama. She led the team in 2010 in assists per set. And once again earned SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll recognition.

Injuries plagued the team at the beginning of 2011 with 4 players, including Mahoney, sidelined. With Scheidt also among the injured and Steinbeck’s graduation, the team was left with just freshman setter Mary Pollmiller. By the time the other setters were healed up Pollmiller and the new 5-1 offense were already ensconced. Mahoney, the two time ace leader, has since taken on the role of serving specialist.

Despite playing almost her entire career as part of a setting team Mahoney has made her mark on the record book, standing at #7 all time in assists at Tennessee. She’s one of only 3 people over the last 10 seasons to make the list.

Whether leading the offense at a turbulent position for UT or at the service line when everyone else is having trouble keeping the ball in, Kelsey has been a steadying force for the Lady Vols. Hopefully that trait has been passed on to the new class as we say goodbye to our first long term setter in over half a decade at Tennessee.

Tennessee sweeps the Razorbacks (25-21, 25-17, 25-21). With Kentucky’s win over LSU, the Lady Vols magic number for a share of the title is 1! More soon…

UPDATE: Kelsey Robinson had 17 kills. Leslie Cikra had 11 kills, 3 blocks, and hit a match high (and 3rd best of her career) .562. Tiffany Baker put down 7 kills and 5 blocks. DeeDee Harrison had 6 kills, 6 blocks, and a .556 hitting percentage. Shealyn Kolsky added in 3 more blocks. Mary Pollmiller put up 38 assists. Ellen Mullen had 11 digs while Nikki Brice had 6. Tennessee out hit Arkansas .352 to .149.

Several milestones to discuss (25 wins, 10 in a row, most SEC wins in school history…) but I’ll save that for the recap on Monday!

UT STORY AND STATS | UARK STORY

See the updated championship scenario chart here: [More...]

In the first part of this article we looked at the road ahead. With the 2011 Lady Vol squad looking forward to a possible SEC Championship, it’s a good time for us to now look back and see just how historic that title would be for the program.

Florida’s volleyball hegemony in the Southeastern Conference began in the early 1990′s, but there had been over a decade of champions before. The first year the SEC awarded a volleyball championship was 1979. Back then they didn’t really play a conference season as we know it today. While SEC opponents were on the schedule occasionally, it was not because of any planning but more because teams just happened to be invited to the same tournaments. In 1979, the SEC held their first Championship Tournament at Alabama. Nine of the then ten schools sent teams — and the odd school out was actually Florida. Florida did not yet have a team and Vanderbilt did! Tennessee advanced all the way to the finals but lost to Kentucky 3-1. Ingrid Mueller became the first Lady Vol named to an SEC Tournament team. In 1980, Tennessee again played Kentucky in the finals but again fell short, 2-1. For the next five years the tournament would continue to decide the SEC champion.

By the standards the team set in terms of wins and losses in the previous and upcoming seasons 1981 was fairly mediocre. UT set a then record for most losses in a single season with a 34-22 record. But the 1981 squad would make history in a few more positive ways before the year was through. At the SEC Tournament they swept every match, including a defeat over Alabama in the finals. UT won their first SEC Championship on their home court, at the first conference tournament played in Knoxville. They were led by All-Tournament Team members Robin Maine, Lezil McPhail, and Beverly Robinson. The win also led Tennessee to the first ever NCAA Volleyball Tournament, making the Lady Vols the first SEC team to go.

Tennessee did it all over again in 1982. UT beat LSU in the finals 3-0 in Baton Rouge. April Chapple, Bonnie Kenny, were named All-Tournament while Beverly Robinson earned the first Tournament MVP award. Tennessee’s second SEC Championship again put them in the national championship hunt, where they became the first SEC team to ever win a match in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Northwestern 3-2. The Lady Vols ended the year ranked #14 in the inaugural year of the AVCA poll — another SEC first.

In 1983, the Lady Vols made it to the finals for the 5th straight year but lost to the home-standing Wildcats 3-1. They made it 6 in a row in 1984, returning the favor vs Kentucky, this time in Knoxville. UT picked up their third SEC Championship, 3-1. Dona Monaco and Laura Wessberg made the All-Tournament Team, while April Chapple earned MVP honors.

In a rare losing season, Tennessee was knocked out of the SEC Tournament in the first round in 1985 — missing the final for the first time since its inception in 1979. This was also the last season the Tournament would decide the champion. Starting in 1986, regular season conference winning percentages would decide who won the league crown.

While Lady Vol fans in 1988 didn’t know it, they were witnessing the tail end of Tennessee’s domination of SEC volleyball. The team wound up second in the regular season and earned a trip to the Tournament finals vs Kentucky (they lost 3-0). But it would be over 15 years before the Lady Vols were in either spot again.

After a decade and a half drought of never finishing the regular season better than third (and only doing that once) and never getting back to the Tournament finals, Tennessee exploded back onto the conference volleyball scene in 2004. In the intervening years Florida had come to dominate the SEC, winning 13 conference championships in a row. With a 14-1 record going into the last SEC match of the season, the Lady Vols only had to beat #7 Florida (15-0) to earn a share of the conference title. But the team had not been able to knock off the Gators in their last 28 attempts dating back to 1991. And UT had only defeated two Top 10 ranked teams in program history — both over two decades previously. If that all wasn’t intimidating enough, Florida was nursing a 145 match SEC regular season winning streak and a 109 match SEC home winning streak! In one of the biggest upsets in school history, the Lady Vols left Gainesville with a 3-2 win and their first piece of an SEC Championship in 20 years. In what some orange-clad fans consider a tie-breaker of the 15-1 shared regular season title, the Lady Vols went back to Florida’s court a week later and got another 3-2 win in the SEC Tournament finals. Julie Knytych made the All-Tournament Team, with Amy Morris taking home the MVP trophy.

In 2005, UT ended up second in the regular season and fell early in the Tournament. But they went on their deepest run ever in the NCAA’s, reaching the Final Four for the first time in school history. The year also saw the final SEC Tournament. Since then the Lady Vols have had two lackluster seasons, then three impressive 15+ conference win seasons in a row. But with an improved upper tier in the SEC they haven’t been able to place better than third.

Boiling it all down, Tennessee volleyball got off to a great start, but other than one big bright spot in 2004-2005 it’s been a rough quarter century since then for Lady Vol fans wanting to see more conference banners being hung. But the 2011 squad has been raising hopes in Big Orange country. And who besides themselves could have expected it?! I admit I was a doubter after key injuries led to a very young team having to take the court in August. I moved back to Knoxville in 2006, thus missing the “big bright spot” in 2004 and 2005. But from what I’ve seen since then this team is the most workmanlike and professional-seeming team I’ve seen. They just power through and get the job done without a lot of drama or complaints. And they’re mostly underclassman!

While the team has put themselves in a great position to bring home just the fifth SEC Championship in the 33 year history of conference volleyball (and their first ever outright regular season title), even if things fell apart this week I would not be disappointed with the 2011 season. It’s been an amazing year and I am so excited to see where this team goes in the next 2-3 years we still have most of them.

But that said, bring home that title — the first of my time at Tennessee — and you might see a grown man cry like a baby with happiness!

Congratulations to Tennessee recruit Bianca Arellano on being named to the 2011-12 AVCA Under Armor High School All-America Second Team!

I have mixed feelings about making this post. I don’t want to jinx anything or seem like I’m jumping the gun here. But talking stats is what I do and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about these things already! So, keeping in mind this is strictly an academic exercise (and in no way should be seen as inadvertently bringing any hoodoo to the team!) here’s a look at Tennessee’s path to the SEC Championship, and (coming tomorrow) a little history of their previous title runs.

Championship Path

There are only three teams left chasing a conference champion ring — Tennessee (16-1), Kentucky (15-2), and Florida (14-3). Everyone else is already mathematically eliminated. The three teams remaining all have three matches left to play.

Tennessee: Arkansas, LSU, and Kentucky at home
Kentucky: LSU and Arkansas at home, and Tennessee on the road
Florida: Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina at home

If any or all of the teams remaining end up with the same record they will be named co-champions. There are no tie-breakers, even if one team swept the other in the season. There are tie-breakers, however, to determine who gets the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament (though I think it’s safe to say all three of these teams will make it regardless).

While Florida has the easiest schedule remaining, they do not control their own destiny and will require help. Tennessee and Kentucky control their championship hopes but have to face three of the top five teams in the conference to finish things off.

Assuming they win out, to get a share of their 20th championship in the past 21 years the Gators need to hope for Kentucky to lose one of their remaining three, and Tennessee to lose two of theirs. To win the title outright UF would need the Lady Vols to lose all three of their remaining matches and for the Wildcats to lose their next two.

The Wildcats have a more straightforward path — win out and win a share of the title. To solely claim the championship they would need UT to lose another game on top of losing to them.

The Lady Vols control their destiny. Tennessee can clinch a share of the title as soon as Friday night (if Kentucky loses to LSU and UT defeats Arkansas). In fact, 10 of the possible 16 outcomes this weekend end with Tennessee getting a share of the title or winning it outright. If the Lady Vols win at least one match those odds go up to 10 out of 12. No matter what UK does, Tennessee clinches at least a share of the title if they win both games this weekend.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS GOING INTO THE LAST MATCH (assuming Florida wins out — logos show possible champions in each scenario)
	UK DEFEATS LSU & ARK	UK DEFEATS LSU & LOSES TO ARK	UK LOSES TO LSU & DEFEATS ARK	UK LOSES TO LSU & ARK
UT DEFEATS ARK & LSU	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: Both teams share title	UT wins SEC title outright despite what happens vs UK	UT wins SEC title outright despite what happens vs UK	UT wins SEC title outright despite what happens vs UK
UT DEFEATS ARK & LOSES TO LSU	Winner of UT/UK match wins the SEC title outright	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: Both teams share title with UF	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: Both teams share title with UF	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: UT shares title with UF
UT LOSES TO ARK & DEFEATS LSU	Winner of UT/UK match wins the SEC title outright	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: Both teams share title with UF	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: Both teams share title with UF	UT clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They win title outright UK wins: UT shares title with UF
UT LOSES TO ARK & LSU	UK clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: Both teams share title with UF UK wins: They win title outright	UF clinches share of SEC title. Winner of UT/UK match shares title with UF	UF clinches share of SEC title. Winner of UT/UK match shares title with UF	UF clinches share of SEC title. UT wins: They share title with UF UK wins: UF wins title outright

I wanted to write something motivational as Tennessee heads into their final week of the season with an SEC Championship on the line. But sophomore setter (and video production major) Kylann Scheidt went one better. Check out her inspiring — and nicely done — video on YouTube.

Just some quick notes as I’m working on another piece for this weekend that should be up soon. Check out the notes from earlier this season (linked below) for more info on these upcoming opponents.

Tennessee leads Arkansas 15-14 in the series, with the Lady Vols at 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. Tennessee currently has an 8 match winning streak over the Razorbacks. In Knoxville, the teams are tied at 5 wins a piece in their last 10 meetings.

The Lady Vols are 18-33 all time vs LSU and 3-7 in their last 10 meetings. At home, UT leads 6-4 in their last 10 meetings.

Tennessee is 12-3 in their last 15 televised matches.

Since 1989, LSU and Tennessee are the only two SEC teams besides 19-time champion Florida to have won the conference.

LSU has topped the SEC West 6 years in a row.

Arkansas didn’t start their volleyball program until 1994. But in those 17 years they have been on top of the SEC West 11 times.

First 2011 meeting: notes | UARK story | UARK stats | LSU story | LSU stats | recap

Official match notes: Arkansas | LSU | Tennessee (updated)

Arkansas (18-10, 10-7)
Game time is Friday, November 18th at 7:00pm ET
Follow the match: Gametracker | free online video

LSU (18-9, 11-6)
Game time is Sunday, November 20th at 2:00pm ET
Follow the match: Gametracker | TV: CSS

SEC TEAM RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES
TEAMS	ACES	ASSISTS	BLOCKS	DIGS	HIT%	KILLS	OPP HIT%
	4th	1st	3rd	6th	3rd	1st	1st
	5th	5th	6th	3rd	4th	5th	4th
	6th	3rd	8th	1st	5th	4th	5th

highest ranked team

middle ranked team

lowest ranked team

The NCAA and SEC have updated their weekly statistical rankings of players and teams for the 2011 season. The national stats rank 322 teams and the top 250 players in each category. All stats (except hitting percentage) are “per set”, not totals. I’ve also listed Tennessee’s rank in the polls. Click the underlined links to see the full season’s national rankings charted week-to-week.

↑ moved UP from last week

↔ stayed EVEN with last week

↓ moved DOWN from last week

POLLS	NATIONAL	SEC
AVCA Poll	14th ↑1	1st ↔
RichKern.com Poll	14th ↑1	1st ↔
Pablo Rankings	14th ↔	2nd ↔
Volleyball Magazine Poll	14th ↑1	1st ↔
RPI	15th ↓1	2nd ↔

NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS
ACES	ASSISTS	BLOCKS	DIGS	HIT%	KILLS
178th ↓1	18th ↑6	104th ↓11	166th ↓11	11th ↑5	14th ↑1

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
ACES	Kelsey Robinson	61st ↑1
ASSISTS	Mary Pollmiller	6th ↑3
BLOCKS	DeeDee Harrison	94th ↓2
DIGS	Ellen Mullins	219th ↓9
HITTING PERCENTAGE	Leslie Cikra	123rd ↑26
HITTING PERCENTAGE	DeeDee Harrison	180th ↑54
KILLS	Kelsey Robinson	16th ↑3
POINTS	Kelsey Robinson	15th ↔

SEC TEAM RANKINGS – ALL MATCHES
ACES	ASSISTS	BLOCKS	DIGS	HIT%	KILLS	OPP HIT%
6th ↓1	1st ↔	6th ↔	5th ↓1	2nd ↔	1st ↔	2nd ↑1

SEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS – ALL MATCHES
ACES	Kelsey Robinson	2nd ↑1
ASSISTS	Mary Pollmiller	1st ↑1
BLOCKS	DeeDee Harrison	2nd ↔
DIGS	Ellen Mullins	5th ↔
HITTING PERCENTAGE	Leslie Cikra	5th ↑1
KILLS	Kelsey Robinson	1st ↔
POINTS	Kelsey Robinson	1st ↔

SEC TEAM RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES
ACES	ASSISTS	BLOCKS	DIGS	HIT%	KILLS	OPP HIT%
4th ↔	1st ↔	3rd ↓1	6th ↓1	3rd ↔	1st ↔	1st ↔

SEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS – CONFERENCE MATCHES
ACES	Kelsey Robinson	2nd ↔
ASSISTS	Mary Pollmiller	1st ↑1
BLOCKS	DeeDee Harrison	1st ↔
DIGS	Ellen Mullins	4th ↔
HITTING PERCENTAGE	DeeDee Harrison	5th ↓1
HITTING PERCENTAGE	Leslie Cikra	8th ↓NR
HITTING PERCENTAGE	Tiffany Baker	9th ↓NR
KILLS	Kelsey Robinson	1st ↔
POINTS	Kelsey Robinson	1st ↔

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached that point in the season already, but this Sunday is Senior Day. Due to injuries and redshirts, we only have one senior to honor this year: Kelsey Mahoney. Hopefully she can handle the attention of being the only one in the spotlight!

First up we’ll dig through the archives and other sources and take a look back at the seniors as they were senior as she was before ever donning the orange and white — some of her pre-UT accomplishments and what’s been said about her before she hit the checkerboard court.

Kelsey Mahoney joined the Lady Vols in 2008 as part of a class that included DeeDee Harrison and Kayla Jeter (who both redshirted a season), Alyssa Hilby (who left the program after a season ending injury and redshirt year), and junior college transfer Michaela Hanakova. PrepVolleyball.com named the class the 13th best in the country.

Coach Patrick (7/2008): I am very excited that this group of players is being recognized for the high level of talent that it possesses. Not only will they be able to make an impact on the court immediately, but they also put our program in good hands for the years to come.

I am extremely excited about the future of Tennessee volleyball and much of that enthusiasm is due to this tremendous class of student-athletes. I truly feel, however, that by the time this class graduates, it will be viewed as one of the top 10 in the country. We fully expect each member of this group to play significant roles in our success over the next few years.

From the archives (11/2007): Mahoney brings an impressive resumé to Rocky Top. She is ranked No. 38 on PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list and was named one of the top two setters in the state of Texas by LoneStarVolleyball.com. The Fort Worth, Texas, native was selected as the MVP of the Texas Advantage club team, which earned the distinction of 2006 Team of the Year from LoneStarVolleyball.com. In 2007, her TAV 17 Asics squad claimed fifth place at the Junior Olympics in Minneapolis, Minn., after a third-place performance by her TAV 16 Asics team the previous year and a placing of fifth by the TAV 15 Asics squad in 2005.

Mahoney also participated on the USA Volleyball Youth National Team in 2006, helping the squad earn the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Girls’ Youth Continental Volleyball Championship with a perfect 5-0 record. Mahoney recorded a double-double in the championship match against Dominican Republic with 19 assists and 11 digs.

Over the past four years, Mahoney has also put together a stellar high school career. A member of the first varsity team ever at Keller H.S., she was named the District 9-4A Newcomer of the Year in 2004 and first-team all-district in 2005. The following year, Mahoney guided her team to its first winning record (26-13), while earning District 5-5A Setter of the Year, LoneStarVolleyball.com All-Texas Team and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Super Team honors. In 2007, she did one better, leading Keller Central to the playoffs for the first time ever and picking up District 5-5A MVP accolades.

Mahoney’s high school coach, Christina Rudiger (8/2007): She’s a student of the game. She wants to be the very best she can be. She’s very competitive, very intense and very driven to succeed at a high level.

PrepVolleyball.com (11/2007): Mahoney’s ability to lead has been well noted. Mahoney possesses great hands, good athleticism and is extremely competitive. Her blocking on the right side is vastly improved. Most importantly, Mahoney sets the middle attack as well as any setter in the country, which will make her a perfect fit for Tennessee’s middle-friendly offense.

Coach Patrick (11/2007): I am very excited to have Kelsey come into our program. She has been a tremendous leader for her high school and club teams and that is one of the most important attributes that we look for in a setter. Her club team runs a similar offense to the system we run here at Tennessee, so she should be able to assimilate herself very quickly.

Kelsey demands a lot of respect from her teammates and I expect her to be a great leader both on and off the court for the next four years. She has the ability to lead her team through rough times during matches, by taking the team on her shoulders and making the plays both offensively and defensively needed to weather any of her team’s inconsistent play. That is the mark of a very strong-minded player.

Coach Patrick (8/2008): Kelsey is a winner. That is the one thing that has followed Kelsey everywhere throughout her career. She has a special ability to make positive things happen on the court. Even though she is just a freshman, she will bring a tremendous amount of setting experience to our team, thanks to her extensive high-level club experience in Texas. She has the ability to step in immediately and run our offense at a very high level. She is a hard-nosed competitor with tremendous leadership skills, not unlike those of former Lady Vol Julie Knytych who played on the 2005 team that reached the NCAA Final Four.