Tennessee Lady Volunteers volleyball

Last updated
Tennessee Lady Volunteers volleyball
Tennessee Lady Volunteers logo.svg
Founded1973
University University of Tennessee
Athletic director Danny White
Head coachEve Rackham (7th season)
Conference SEC
Location Knoxville, Tennessee
Home arena Thompson–Boling Arena (capacity: 21,678)
Nickname Lady Volunteers
ColorsOrange and white [1]
   
AIAW/NCAA Tournament semifinal
2005
AIAW/NCAA Regional Final
2005
AIAW/NCAA regional semifinal
1982, 1983, 1984, 2004, 2005, 2023
AIAW/NCAA second round
1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023
AIAW/NCAA Tournament appearance
1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champion
1981, 1982, 1984, 2004
Conference regular season champion
1981, 1982, 1984, 2004, 2011

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers volleyball team represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers (or "Vols") compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Volunteers play their home matches in the Thompson–Boling Arena on the university's campus, and are currently led by 3rd-year head coach Eve Rackham.

Contents

Along with all other UT women's sports teams, it used the nickname "Lady Volunteers" (or the short form "Lady Vols") until the 2015–16 school year, when the school dropped the "Lady" prefix from the nicknames of all women's teams except in basketball. [2] In late 2017 the university reinstated the “Lady Volunteer” nickname for all women's sports teams.

Program History

Since the Volunteers have begun competing in the NCAA they have begun a successful trend of winning and have recently built a very sound program that competes for conference championships regularly. The Vols have managed to make the NCAA Volleyball Tournament and AIAW Tournament a total of 23 times and reached the semi-finals in the tournament in 2005. The Lady Vols are generally considered the 3rd best program in the SEC historically, behind Kentucky and Florida, as they have the 3rd most appearances in the NCAA Tournaments, and are tied with LSU for 3rd most conference championships (9).

Rob Patrick Era

From 1997 until his retirement in 2017, Rob Patrick led the Lady Vols to 9 NCAA Tournaments, 2 SEC Championships, an SEC Tournament, and 11 20+ win seasons. One highlight of the Rob Patrick campaign came in 2004, when the Lady Vols set program records in wins (32), win percentage (.914), and claimed the SEC regular season and tournament championships. This success culminated in a #12 national seed and an NCAA Sweet 16 berth. The Lady Vols finished the 2004 season with a final record of 32-3 (15-1 SEC). The success rolled into 2005 as the Lady Vols made their deepest postseason appearance with their first and only NCAA Final Four appearance. Despite his accomplishments, the Lady Vols struggled during his final two years finishing a combined 29-29 and 12–24 in SEC play by the time Patrick retired in 2017. [3]

Eve Rackham-Watt Era

On January 10, 2018, former athletic director Phillip Fulmer announced Eve Rackham as the new head coach for the Lady Volunteers. In her first season as head coach, Rackham led the largest single season turnaround in program history, taking a team that finished 12-15 (5-13 SEC) the previous season to 26-6 (16-2 SEC) with a 2nd place SEC finish. Additionally, Rackham ended a 5-year postseason drought in 2018, and guided the Lady Vols to back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time since 2012 by qualifying in 2021 and 2022. [4]

Yearly Record

The University of Tennessee first fielded a women's varsity volleyball team in the fall of 1958 and first kept recordings of games in 1973. Since then, the Volunteers have won four Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships. [3]

YearHead coachOverall
record
SEC
Record
SEC
standing
Winning
percentage
Postseason
(Independent)(1973–1978)
1973Kaye Hart (1st)38-6.8642nd Region II
1974Kaye Hart (2nd)8-14.364
1975Diane Hale (1st)17-8-6.645
1976Jodie Lambert (1st)22-13-4.615
1977Bud Fields (1st)7-11-3.4054th Region II
1978Bud Fields (2nd)20-14-3.581
(SEC)(1979–present)
1979Bob Bertucci (1st)34-114-22nd.7565th Region II
1980Bob Bertucci (2nd)40-174-12nd.6962nd Region II
1981Bob Bertucci (3rd)34-223-0Champions.607 NCAA First Round
1982Bob Bertucci (4th)31–72-0Champions.816 NCAA Regional Semifinal
1983Bob Bertucci (5th)31–103-22nd.756 NCAA Regional Semifinal
1984Bob Bertucci (6th)25–115-1Champions.694 NCAA Regional Semifinal
1985Bob Bertucci (7th)12–243-34th.333
1986Bob Bertucci (8th)22–132-35th.629
1987Sandy Lynn (1st)18-184-33rd.500
1988Sandy Lynn (2nd)23–125-22nd.657
1989Sandy Lynn (3rd)13–155-34th.464
1990Sandy Lynn (4th)12–174-4T–3rd.414
1991 Julie Hermann (1st)12–174-108th.414
1992 Julie Hermann (2nd)13–148-65th.481
1993 Julie Hermann (3rd)18–137-75th.581 NCAA Second Round
1994 Julie Hermann (4th)10–212-1211th.323
1995 Julie Hermann (5th)7-250-145th (East).219
1996 Julie Hermann (6th)17–166-84th (East).515
1997Rob Patrick (1st)15–195-94th (East).441
1998Rob Patrick (2nd)19–107-74th (East).655
1999Rob Patrick (3rd)19–138-62nd (East).594
2000Rob Patrick (4th)23–109-53rd (East).700 NCAA First Round
2001Rob Patrick (5th)16–117-73rd (East).593
2002Rob Patrick (6th)20–118-84th (East).645
2003Rob Patrick (7th)22–910-62nd (East).710
2004Rob Patrick (8th)32–315-1Champions.914 NCAA Regional Semifinal
2005Rob Patrick (9th)25–913-32nd (East).735 NCAA Final Four
2006Rob Patrick (10th)19–1210-103rd (East).613 NCAA First Round
2007Rob Patrick (11th)11–186-145th (East).379
2008Rob Patrick (12th)22–1015-53rd (East).688 NCAA First Round
2009Rob Patrick (13th)24–816-4T–2nd (East).750 NCAA Second Round
2010Rob Patrick (14th)25–715-52nd (East).781 NCAA Second Round
2011Rob Patrick (15th)28–419-1Champions.875 NCAA Second Round
2012Rob Patrick (16th)22–815-52nd (East).733 NCAA First Round
2013Rob Patrick (17th)9-231-1711th.391
2014Rob Patrick (18th)8-241-1713th.333
2015Rob Patrick (19th)21–127-11T–8th.636
2016Rob Patrick (20th)17–147-11T–7th.548
2017Rob Patrick (21st)12–155-13T–11th.444
2018Eve Rackham (1st)26–616-22nd.813 NCAA Second Round
2019Eve Rackham (2nd)15–139-9T–7th.536
2020Eve Rackham-Watt (3rd)12–812-85th.600
2021Eve Rackham-Watt (4th)20–1011-74th.667 NCAA Second Round
2022Eve Rackham-Watt (5th)17-1411-7T–4th.548 NCAA First Round
2023Eve Rackham-Watt (6th)26-515-3T–2nd.839 NCAA Regional Semifinal
Total8983–650–16329-2795.60221

[5]

All-Americans

Tennessee has 17 All-Americans including two AVCA All-America first team selections [6]

  • Kristen Andre, 2004, 2005
  • Sarah Blum, 2006
  • April Chapple, 1984
  • Leslie Cikra, 2011
  • Nikki Fowler, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • Chloe Goldman, 2009
  • Leah Hinkey, 2010
  • DeeDee Harrison, 2011
  • Kayla Jeter, 2010
  • Julie Knytych, 2004, 2005
  • Amy Morris, 2004, 2005
  • Ellen Mullins, 2012
  • Michelle Piantadosi, 2004
  • Mary Pollmiller, 2011
  • Beverly Robinson, 1982
  • Kelsey Robinson, 2011, 2012
  • Yuliya Stoyanova, 2005, 2006

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers</span> University of Tennessee athletic teams

The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In January 2021, Danny White was introduced as the Volunteers' Director of Athletics.

Fran Flory is an American retired head coach of the LSU Tigers women's indoor volleyball team and former head coach of the LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball</span> Womens college basketball team

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition. The team has been a contender for national titles for over forty years, having made every NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament since the NCAA began sanctioning women's sports in the 1981–82 season.

The Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team is the collegiate men's basketball program for the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Volunteers play their home games in Thompson–Boling Arena, on a court nicknamed "the Summitt", after former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt. With a current capacity of 21,678, Tennessee has consistently ranked in the top 15 in the nation in terms of volume of attendance, averaging 14,817 attendance from 1988 through 2006, and averaging 17,194 attendance from 2007 through 2018 after reducing seating capacity prior to the 2007 season. Historically, Tennessee ranks third in the SEC in all-time wins. Many notable players have played collegiately at Tennessee—players such as Bernard King, Dale Ellis, Allan Houston, Tobias Harris, Grant Williams, and Dalton Knecht who all play(ed) in the NBA. Chris Lofton, Ron Slay, Tyler Smith, and John Fulkerson are also notable players who later played professionally in other leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators women's volleyball</span> Womens volleyball team of the University of Florida

The Florida Gators women's volleyball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of volleyball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home matches in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Mary Wise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball</span> Womens university softball team from Knoxville, Tennessee

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's softball competition. Coached by Karen Weekly, the team has become a consistently top-tier team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), appearing in every NCAA tournament since 2004, and qualifying for 8 Women's College World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers men's cross country</span> American college cross country team

The Tennessee Volunteers cross country program represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The men's program competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The men's cross country team officially started in 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Lady Volunteers cross country</span> American college cross country team

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers cross country program represents the University of Tennessee (UT) located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The women's program competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The women's cross country team officially started in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers women's rowing</span>

The Tennessee Volunteers women's rowing team is the most recently added sport at the University of Tennessee (UT). The team began in 1995 and since then has grown to new heights. Since 2014, the team has competed in the Big 12 Conference, which took over the rowing league formerly operated by Conference USA. UT is joined in Big 12 rowing by one of its historic rivals in its all-sports league, the Southeastern Conference, in Alabama. The Volunteers, then known as Lady Volunteers, won their first conference championship in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers men's golf</span> American college golf team

The Tennessee Volunteers men's golf team represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Vols compete at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols currently rotate between 16 different golf courses located in the state of Tennessee, with their main headquarters at the Blackburn-Furrow Golf Clubhouse at Day Golf Practice Facility, less than a mile from campus. The current coach for the Volunteer men is Brennan Webb who is in his 5th season as Tennessee's head coach. Since the Vol's inaugural season in 1934 they have won three SEC championships, competed in 17 NCAA Championships, and participated in 27 NCAA Regionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers men's swimming and diving</span>

The Tennessee Volunteers men's Swimming and Diving program represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers are currently coached by Matt Kredich. The Vols host their swim meets in the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center which was newly built in 2008. The Vols compete in the SEC where they have won 10 SEC team titles, 173 individual titles and 45 relay crowns. Over the past 75 years of competition the Vols have produced numerous All-Americans, 24 Olympians, scored in 53 consecutive NCAA Championship meets, won 45 individual NCAA titles and won 1 NCAA National Title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field</span> American college track and field team

The Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field program represents the University of Tennessee in the sport of track and field. The indoor and outdoor programs compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols host their home outdoor meets at the newly renovated Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, located on the university's Knoxville, Tennessee campus. Their rich tradition of success features 4 national titles, 7 finishes as national runner-ups, 62 NCAA individual champions, numerous All-Americans, 25 Olympians, 43 SEC championships, and 109 combined scoring appearances in the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. The team is led by current head coach Duane Ross who took over the program after Beth Alford-Sullivan in May 2022.

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's soccer competition as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers women's track and field</span> American college track and field team

The Tennessee Volunteers women's track and field program represents the University of Tennessee in the sport of track and field. The indoor and outdoor programs compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Lady Vols host their home outdoor meets at the newly renovated Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, located on the university's Knoxville, Tennessee campus. They formally held meets indoors at Stokely Athletic Center until the arenas demolition in 2012, but will soon have a new indoor track facility sometime in the 2020s. The team is led by current head coach Duane Ross who took over the program after the firing of Beth Alford-Sullivan in May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2014–15 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Donnie Tyndall, who was in his first season at Tennessee. The team played their home games at the Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in tenth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Volunteers were led by third-year head coach Rick Barnes. The team played its home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in SEC play to earn a share of the SEC regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Mississippi State and Arkansas before losing to Kentucky in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South region. There the Volunteers defeated Wright State before being upset by Loyola–Chicago in the Second Round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers men's tennis</span> Sports organization

The Tennessee Volunteer men's tennis team represents the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, TN. The program has appeared in 31 NCAA Tournaments. Additionally, the Vols have won 9 SEC Championships, 4 SEC Tournaments, and finished as national runner-up three times. Prominent ATP players who came to Tennessee include Tennys Sandgren, John-Patrick Smith, Chris Woodruff, Paul Annacone, Michael Fancutt, and Mike De Palmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers women's golf</span> American college golf team

The Tennessee Volunteers women's golf team represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Vols compete at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols currently rotate between 16 different golf courses located in the state of Tennessee. The current coach for the Lady Volunteer's is Diana Cantu who began in 2022. Until the 2022 season, the Lady Vols had appeared in an NCAA regional every year since the program began in 1993, and they were one of only 9 NCAA Division 1 teams to compete in every NCAA regional since the championship’s format was established. Overall the Lady Vols have competed in 30 NCAA Regionals and 14 NCAA Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Volunteers women's swimming and diving</span>

The Tennessee Volunteers women's Swimming and Diving program represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers are currently coached by Matt Kredich. The Lady Vols host their swim home meets in Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center which was newly built in 2008. The Lady compete in the SEC where they have won 2 SEC team titles, 84 individual, relay, and diving titles. Additionally, the program is one of only 3 that have scored in all 41 NCAA meets, and it has produced 8 NCAA individual and relay titles, 16 Olympians, and 3 Olympic medalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's tennis</span> American college tennis team

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's tennis team represents the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, TN. The program has qualified for 31 NCAA Tournaments, including 20 straight from 1995 to 2014. They are led by former player and current 8th year head coach Alison Ojeda.

References

  1. "General Information". UTSports.com. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  2. Megargee, Steve (June 26, 2015). "Tennessee set to make move to a lone 'Lady Vols' team". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press . Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Volleyball Handbook 2022
  4. "Eve Rackham Watt - Volleyball Coach".
  5. "University of Tennessee Athletics Women's Volleyball". Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  6. "Lady Vol Duo Earns AVCA All-America Honors - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics". www.utsports.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16.