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.

Congratulations to Leslie Cikra and Jasmine Brown on being named to the 2010 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll!

Just a quick heads up that we’re just one month away from the Lady Vols volleyball team’s first match of the season against Xavier on August 27th! More news coming soon including info on: the honor roll, the TV schedule, and another 2011 recruit.

Gyms at colleges across the nation have started to see action this week as returning players and new recruits hit the court to get ready for the 2010 season. And I’m sure you’d all like to know how Tennessee is preparing. Well I got nothing for you there! But I can continue our quick looks at some of the recruits Tennessee has commitments from for the season after next. Keep in mind (from what I understand about recruiting rules — which admittedly is not much) verbal commitments are not binding so this all could change.

Alston Kearns is a 5’6” libero from Apex High School in Apex NC. After falling one match short of the state championship game in 2008, a senior-less Apex squad went 20-4 and won their conference in 2009 but was knocked out of the state tournament in the second round. Kearns was named to the All-Conference team for the second year in a row. She plays club for Triangle Volleyball. Her team qualified for the the recent USAV Girls’ Junior National Championships where they finished 15th in the 18 Open division. As a sophomore, PrepVolleyball.com named her an Honorable Mention on their 2009 Defensive Dandies list. A year later she moved up to Third Team on the list, where they added, “She guts it out like no other… Kearns has set a new bar for NC dandies…” Kearns also plays sand volleyball and and was a 2009 All-District second baseman in softball for Apex.

Is it too early to start talking about 2011? Probably! But that won’t stop us! Over the next week or so we’ll take a quick look at some of the recruits Tennessee has commitments from for the season after next. Keep in mind (from what I understand about recruiting rules — which admittedly is not much) verbal commitments are not binding so this all could change.

Tiffany Baker is a 6’3” middle blocker/outside hitter from Hebron High School in Carrollton TX. Last season her team made it to the Class 5A regional semifinals. Baker was named to the 6-5A All-District team and unanimously chosen as MVP. According to her coach, “She is just a stud… She plays hard, is smart and really excels not only on the court but in the classroom.” The coach added that although she gets attention because of her offense and power, she also has “great finesse for her height”. She plays club for Dallas Premier Volleyball. This week her team is playing in the 17 Open division of the USAV Girls’ Junior National Championships, where they are currently 7-1 with a good chance at the title. Baker was named one of PrepVolleyball’s top 50 recruits for 2011.

Let’s try to get catch up this back log of stories that piled up while I was slacking off by taking care of some real life stuff the past few months!

• Congratulations to Lady Vol seniors Carol Cheade, Chloe Goldman, Kylie Marshall, and Farren Powe who are now officially graduates of the University of Tennessee.

• Blount Today has some photos of a few of the Lady Vols visiting a clinic at Eagleton Middle School.

• Tennessee’s annual volleyball camp for girls entering 5th through 12th grade starts in less than two weeks. Info available at the official site.

• With the previously announced sites, the NCAA has now announced regional and championship sites through 2014:

2010: regional sites Washington, Penn State, Texas, Dayton; championship site Kansas City MO

2011: regional sites Florida, Minnesota, Hawaii, Kentucky; championship site San Antonio TX

2012: regional sites Cal, Nebraska, Texas, Purdue; championship site Louisville KY

2013: regional sites USC, Kentucky, Florida, Illinois; championship site Seattle WA

2014: regional sites Washington, Iowa State, Louisville, Minnesota; championship site Oklahoma City OK