StrangeVol
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- May 25, 2016
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First, thanks to our seniors. We'll really miss Erica Treiber, Brooke Schumacher, and Stephanie Spencer. Well done ladies, and to Erica a special thanks for being such a warrior and “leading the charge!”
What a difference a year makes. The arrival of Coach Eve Rackham and her staff has been a major turn around in volleyball at UT and that's no hyperbole. The prior 2017 season was not kind to Lady Vol volleyball. We finishing tied for 11th place with a record of 12 & 15. There was not even a whiff of the postseason. It also brought an end to the Coach Rob Patrick era after 21 seasons.
Given the misery of the past season(s) it's hard to imagine how Coach Rackham and staff took a team expected to finish 10th in the league and turned them into the team that finished second. The really good news is this was year one, the years to come now look much much brighter.
So how did this complete turnaround happen? Having listened to many interviews and read countless articles with and about the players and coaches, I'll speculate that CER instilled a sense of unity and the belief that they were a much better team than they had shown in the past. The girls came to trust each other and the staff and dedicated themselves to be the best they could be. The rest is history. More history will be made!
I think it's fair to say that this edition of the Volleyballers literally grew up right before our eyes. From overcoming our loss to ETSU at the beginning of the season to our improbable but really fun NCAA tournament appearances the later of which were only made possible because of the growth of the team game to game. Once the team bought in fully to Coach Rackham's system, they just got better and better.
Can't wait for next season!
Speaking of next season, we have a lot to look forward to. Our freshmen will be a year older and better. I expect great things from Lily, Rocky, Danielle and lightly used Giana Pellizzon a talented Defender/Libero.
We have lots of talent elsewhere as well, I really want to see how good Tessa, Sedona, Callie, and Addisyn will become.
Speaking of getting better, I hope we will work very hard on improving our serving game and eliminate or at least drastically reduce the number of service errors. We gave up too many points while destroying our rhythm, a lot. We need to fix that.
I would also like to work on our defense generally and blocking in particular. If you watched our match against Washington State you saw the huge difference in their blocking and ours. No comparison. If we want to play “big girl” volleyball, it starts at the net. If we block well we score more points. Simple as that. If we can only deflect shots at times that at least help our defenders dig more balls which in turn leads to more kills. Addisyn Rowe has the potential to be a great blocker if she wants to be.
Finally, I really like our team and coaches and I'm confident CER will begin bringing in bigger and better players to compliment what we already have. I expect us to be at or very near the top of the SEC every year and I think we have the coaching staff that can take us there. If we want to be at the top of the collegiate Volleyball world, that will take some time. Either or both, I'm totally happy.
GO LADY VOLS!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT SEASON!!!
Happy Holidays everyone.
StrangeVol
P.S. One other thing, I think our growing number of fans deserve a big “shout out” for their support of the team. The girls mentioned multiple times the great fan support they received. You guys and girls made a big difference!
What a difference a year makes. The arrival of Coach Eve Rackham and her staff has been a major turn around in volleyball at UT and that's no hyperbole. The prior 2017 season was not kind to Lady Vol volleyball. We finishing tied for 11th place with a record of 12 & 15. There was not even a whiff of the postseason. It also brought an end to the Coach Rob Patrick era after 21 seasons.
Given the misery of the past season(s) it's hard to imagine how Coach Rackham and staff took a team expected to finish 10th in the league and turned them into the team that finished second. The really good news is this was year one, the years to come now look much much brighter.
So how did this complete turnaround happen? Having listened to many interviews and read countless articles with and about the players and coaches, I'll speculate that CER instilled a sense of unity and the belief that they were a much better team than they had shown in the past. The girls came to trust each other and the staff and dedicated themselves to be the best they could be. The rest is history. More history will be made!
I think it's fair to say that this edition of the Volleyballers literally grew up right before our eyes. From overcoming our loss to ETSU at the beginning of the season to our improbable but really fun NCAA tournament appearances the later of which were only made possible because of the growth of the team game to game. Once the team bought in fully to Coach Rackham's system, they just got better and better.
Can't wait for next season!
Speaking of next season, we have a lot to look forward to. Our freshmen will be a year older and better. I expect great things from Lily, Rocky, Danielle and lightly used Giana Pellizzon a talented Defender/Libero.
We have lots of talent elsewhere as well, I really want to see how good Tessa, Sedona, Callie, and Addisyn will become.
Speaking of getting better, I hope we will work very hard on improving our serving game and eliminate or at least drastically reduce the number of service errors. We gave up too many points while destroying our rhythm, a lot. We need to fix that.
I would also like to work on our defense generally and blocking in particular. If you watched our match against Washington State you saw the huge difference in their blocking and ours. No comparison. If we want to play “big girl” volleyball, it starts at the net. If we block well we score more points. Simple as that. If we can only deflect shots at times that at least help our defenders dig more balls which in turn leads to more kills. Addisyn Rowe has the potential to be a great blocker if she wants to be.
Finally, I really like our team and coaches and I'm confident CER will begin bringing in bigger and better players to compliment what we already have. I expect us to be at or very near the top of the SEC every year and I think we have the coaching staff that can take us there. If we want to be at the top of the collegiate Volleyball world, that will take some time. Either or both, I'm totally happy.
GO LADY VOLS!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT SEASON!!!
Happy Holidays everyone.
StrangeVol
P.S. One other thing, I think our growing number of fans deserve a big “shout out” for their support of the team. The girls mentioned multiple times the great fan support they received. You guys and girls made a big difference!
