Coach Patrick, 2005: “Mindy is going to come in and definitely be one of our most versatile hitters, because not only has she played middle hitter for many years at a high level, but also right side and outside hitter… Mindy has very good volleyball skills and is equally adept at playing front row and back row. She will cause match-up problems for opponents, because she can hit a variety of tempo sets.”

Coach Patrick, 2008: “Mindy has been a stalwart in our lineup and integral to our successes over the past few years. It was not a coincidence that the level of our play dipped last year when she was injured. Mindy is able to play any of the front three positions as well as contribute in the back row. We are excited to get her back on the court this year because her high volleyball IQ really helps to raise the level of our total team play.”

Most good teams have a type of player who sometimes gets taken for granted by the fans, but whom coaches wish they had more of. These players may get huge numbers but end up just behind someone else in the box score. These selfless athletes quietly rack up stats and dependably put in solid performances week in and week out without getting the accolades they deserve. Mindy Flynn has had four amazing seasons but has always seemed to have someone else just in front of her getting most of the spotlight. And very much to her credit, it seems the spotlight is not something she craves. She’s been an extremely reliable athlete who gets the job done over and over again and always puts the team’s needs in front of her own.

During Mindy’s freshman season she played in 23 of the 34 matches. Her first big game came in her 4th match as a Lady Vol, vs LSU. She had 5 kills, 2 digs, and a block. In November, she was able to take advantage of an injured player’s absence to really show what she could do. She had a career high 5 blocks vs South Carolina, though that record would not stand long. Two days later she had 8 kills while hitting .467 against Alabama in her first start. Two more days later and she had 4 blocks vs Auburn. Starting the SEC tournament vs Mississippi, she had 7 kills on 8 attacks with no errors for .875, with 3 blocks as well. She matched that kill total the next day against Alabama. In a big win vs #7 Notre Dame Mindy had 11 kills and a then career high 6 blocks. She started for just the second time of her career in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and hit four kills and 3 blocks against Jacksonville State. In the Sweet Sixteen round she had a then career high 7 blocks against #2 Penn State. The next day she had 6 kills and 5 blocks against #8 Missouri. In the Final Four match against eventual national champion Washington she had a kill and 3 blocks. She is one of only 10 Lady Vols to play in a Final Four. Despite being a freshman, Mindy held her own and was fourth on the team in blocks per game, just barely behind three All-Americans!

Mindy’s sophomore year would be one of her best. It started the first weekend where she had 4 blocks vs Virginia, 10 kills, a then career high .667 hitting percentage, and 5 assists against Centenary, and 12 kills on 28 attacks for .393 and 4 blocks vs Miami (OH). She was named the Comcast Lady Vol Classic MVP and also earned Lady Vol Athlete of the Week honors. She did well at the next tournament as well getting 4 blocks against Loyola Marymount, 9 kills while hitting .353 with 3 blocks against North Carolina, and 11 kills while hitting .391 with 4 blocks against #14 USC. In the next four matches Mindy’s stats were all blocking, with 17 notched over that stretch. Against Arkansas she hit .353. while knocking back 5 more blocks. In a match against Louisville she had 7 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs, and a current career high 5 assists. Vs Mississippi she hit .417 with 7 blocks and a few days later knocked down 4 more blocks vs Mississippi State. At Auburn she would set a then career high record with 9 blocks. She’d block back 7 more against South Carolina beofre setting her current career high of 10 blocks against Kentucky, where she also hit 15 of 31 for .381. Again, November would be a big month for Mindy. She started the month with 7 kills against Kentucky, 9 vs Alabama 11 vs Georgia, and 7 vs South Carolina. But she saved her best for the end of the month. Against #7 Florida she hit a career high 18 kills on a still career high 43 attacks. That kills record didn’t last long. Two days later she set her current career high against Auburn with 22 kills, and hit .400 with 6 digs and 8 blocks tacked on for good measure! She finished off the season with 11 kills and 6 blocks against #25 Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Usually when a player dominates a stat it’s hard for any other player on the team to do really well in the same category at the same time. Not so in this case. Despite a teammate setting the school record for single season blocks per game and coming in second in total single season blocks in 2006, Mindy also made a big mark blocking. She was just two one-hundredths of a point away from also making the top ten single season blocks list, and 17 blocks shy of also making the single season blocks list. She was second on the team for the season in hitting percentage and third in points, again just behind two All-Americans. She was the only player on the team to play in every set during 2006, and was given the Coaches Award for her efforts on the season.

2007 would be a tough year for the Lady Vols and for Mindy personally — in fact those two statements are probably very much related to each other. She got right back into things as the season started, knocking down 5 blocks in an upset win over #21 Utah. Over the next four outings she averaged 5 blocks a match. At the final match of the Lady Vol Classic she hit .700 against Indiana. She started hitting a stride against Marquette where she had 12 kills. In four of the next six matches she’d hit at least 9 kills. She’s also notch at least 3 blocks in five of the six. Against Mississippi State she had 16 kills, 13 against Auburn, and 10 vs Georgia. In the 13th match of the season she was hitting .400 and had 3 blocks, before an injury cut her season short. Tennessee would go on to have their first losing season since 1997. She ended up second on the season in blocks per set behind an All-SEC player. The year ended on a high note, however, when Mindy was named to the SEC Community Service team.

Now in her senior season, Mindy is back on the court. She’s sharing the blocking duties with a few other players now. But hitting-wise she has picked up right where she left off and getting plenty of notice! She’s had 10 matches this season with 9 or more kills. She’s hit .300 or better a gaudy 15 times! In SEC play this year her .339 hitting percentage is the 6th best in the league. Overall, she stands at #8 on the Tennessee career blocks per set list. And with 8 more blocks she’ll make the top ten total career blocks list. The Lady Vols were 64-30 in matches she played in.

I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m harping too much about Mindy seemingly always coming in second. I don’t mean it in a negative way at all. My point has been she’s seemingly always coming in second to someone who is really, really good — and she hangs right in there with them without getting the same recognition, perhaps unfairly. She’s been an integral part of Tennessee’s successes during her time here. In fact you could say Tennessee’s biggest failure during the past four years occurred only after we lost her on the court. And that’s probably no coincidence! It would have been great to see her get more of the awards she really did deserve. But more important than all those distractions is the way she has handled herself. She always seemed happy to put the team first. But hopefully she knows that her coaches, her teammates, and her biggest fans are well aware of just how important she has been to Tennessee volleyball over the years.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 11:58 pm.