Hello! Is anyone else well into volleyball withdrawal? Now that we’re officially into spring I thought this would be a good time to post a few notes of interest.

• Unfortunately, it seems Tennessee is losing a few members of the volleyball family. According to posts at Volley Talk, players Jaye Loyd and Michaela Hanakova have apparently left the team for personal reasons. I’ve also heard that we may have lost some staff, including assistant coach Katie Noble, graduate assistant Annie Sadowski, and volunteer assistant Philip Bennett. If any of this is incorrect please contact me so I can immediately correct it. Best wishes to those moving on in their future endeavors.

• Some good news: new recruits should be joining the Lady Vol ranks soon. According to Rich Kern and Memphis Metro Volleyball, Rebekah Smith (5′ 11” RS/OH, Hutchison School, Memphis TN) will be joining Leslie Cikra in the 2009 freshman class. Smith made All-State and was a PrepVolleyball.com Honorable Mention All-American in 2007 and 2008. And according to the Tennessean, joining Kylann Scheidt in 2010 will be three-time All-State player Ellen Mullins (5′ 5” DS/L, Father Ryan HS, Nashville, TN).

• Spring season should be just around the corner. Other than the beach tournament in April I don’t have details about any matches. Check the official Tennessee site and hopefully they’ll post info there soon.

• Nikki Fowler was named an Honorable Mention on the CVU.com 2008 Stellar Spiker list.

• Six players made the 2008-09 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll: Carol Cheade, Milan Clarke, Nikki Fowler, Chloe Goldman, Lauren LaFlamme, and Kylie Marshall.

My family and I are in the middle of looking for a new house. We hope to find one and move in within the next month or two. But I am planning to head to Florida for the beach tournament. So besides that, and barring any major news, there probably won’t be many other updates for awhile.

I hope everyone is having a great off season!