Tennessee starts off the season ranked for just the 6th time in program history, this time picked as the 19th best team in the nation. That ranking is the highest the team has been on the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll since October 2006. Three other SEC teams made the short list: #13 Florida, #14 Kentucky, and #23 LSU. This is just the 3rd time four SEC schools have started off the season ranked.

UPDATE: Besides the three ranked SEC schools, this year the Lady Vols will also face #15 Florida State and unofficially ranked #30 Oklahoma and #38 Ohio.

Congratulations to Nikki Fowler and Kayla Jeter who were named to the Preseason All-SEC team!

2010 Preseason All-SEC Team
Alyssa Meuth, Alabama
Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
Kelly Murphy, Florida
Valentina Gonzalez, Georgia
Becky Pavan, Kentucky
Lauren Rapp, Kentucky
Michele Williams, LSU
Nikki Fowler, Tennessee
Kayla Jeter, Tennessee

We’re only ten days away from first serve for the Lady Vols in 2010, and things are starting to pick up! Later today we’ll get our first look at the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll. Tennessee ended last season at #24. Also today, we should find out who made the Preseason All-SEC Team. Tomorrow we’ll see how the conference coaches think the teams stack up when the SEC Preseason Poll is released. Until then you can watch some “Courtside Chat” videos with DeeDee Harrison and Jasmine Brown. And the SEC site is previewing each of their 11 teams that play volleyball; check out the Alabama and Arkansas articles released so far. I’ll be back soon with more!

With the addition of videos from Kylann Scheidt and Carly Sahagian, “Courtside Chats” with all the incoming freshman have now been posted at the official site. You can keep up with these interviews as they become available and catch any you missed here.

Congratulations to former All-American Lady Vol Amy Williamson née Morris (2003-2005), an assistant coach at Tulane, who will now also be the school’s head sand volleyball coach. “I am very excited and grateful to be stepping into this new role. As a young coach, Tulane has really offered me great stepping stones to help further my career. This promotion truly shows the dedication that our athletic director Rick Dickson and head coach Sinisa Momic have in trying to keep our staff together for many years.”

I can’t believe I forgot about this! I posted part one of the look at some of the 2009 records back in January with a promise of “more to come”. Well, eight months later here it is! As always remember this is an unofficial list of course, but I’m pretty sure it’s accurate. Apologies for any errors and to anyone left off.

The AVCA has announced the Under Armour Girls’ High School All-America volleyball watch list for the 2010-11 season. Good luck to the Tennessee commitments on the list: Tiffany Baker, Alston Kearns, and Shealyn Kolosky.

An autographed Lady Vols jersey and mini-volleyball are up for grabs on UT’s auction page. The bidding starts at $20 and ends in three weeks.

Season tickets for the upcoming year are now on sale through the UT Ticket Office. The cost is $42 for 14 home matches.

The official site is keeping up their frantic pace of updates! The latest include a new series of videos with the players called “Courtside Chats” (the first with freshman Ellen Mullins) and roster page updates that include the new headshots and a team photo.

UPDATE: New video with freshman Kelsey Robinson now online.

The official Tennessee volleyball page has a recap of the first day of practice, along with video interviews with coach Rob Patrick and fifth year senior middle Leah Hinkey.

Congratulations to Cameron Harris, Debby Jennings, and Eric Trainer who were honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Their efforts creating the 2009 Lady Vols volleyball media guide were judged the 6th best in the country.

The official site has posted a video interview with coach Rob Patrick, who discusses the team’s motivation, physicality, and experience, touches on the players at each position, and talks about the goals and expectations for 2010. My favorite part? The answer to how many players it takes to fill Chloe Goldman’s shoes! Also check out assistant coach Gregg Whitis discussing the freshman class.

The SEC has released the TV schedule for the upcoming season, and the Lady Vols feature heavily.

ESPNU
9/29 – Kentucky at Tennessee
10/6 – Georgia at Auburn
10/13 – Arkansas at LSU
10/20 – Tennessee at Florida
10/27 – South Carolina at Florida

FSN
10/3 – Mississippi State at Georgia
10/10 – South Carolina at Alabama
10/15 – LSU at Ole Miss
10/31 – Auburn at Kentucky
11/7 – Kentucky at Alabama

CSS/CST
9/19 – Mississippi State at Ole Miss (CST)
9/19 – Florida at Tennessee
10/31 – Georgia at Tennessee
11/7 – Florida at Auburn
11/14 – Arkansas at Tennessee
11/21 – Georgia at Alabama
11/21 – Florida at LSU (CST)

The Lady Vols officially kick off the 2010 campaign today as preseason practice gets underway. First serve is just three weeks and two days away. Be sure to check into the official site as we get closer to opening day. And if you’re the social sort, follow the team on Twitter: @UTVolleyball, @RobPatrickUT, and @UTLadyVols.