By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The second weekend of the 2015 volleyball season will send the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles down the road to Knoxville for the Tennessee Volleyball Classic. In addition to head coach Dave Zelenock's Golden Eagles, the tournament will feature the hosting Tennessee Volunteers, the North Florida Ospreys and the UNC-Greensboro Spartans.
Tennessee
In 2014, the University of Tennessee, a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), compiled an 8-24 overall record and finished 13th in the SEC. Head coach Rob Patrick returns to the Vols for his 19th season. Sophomore, Kendra Turner, will lead Tennessee this year. In 2014, Turner led the team in kills (222) and kills per set (2.67), and also finished ranked 19th in kills per set for the SEC.
North Florida
North Florida is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASC). In 2014, the Ospreys went 13-18 and fell to Jacksonville in the first round of the A-Sun Championship. Returning to North Florida this season is sophomore, Courtney Miller. Miller was named the 2014 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, as well as a 2015 Pre-season All-Conference team member. She totaled 335 kills to lead the league freshman as well as reached double-digit kills in 11 of 14 conference regular season matches. Head coach Steve Loeswick will lead the Ospreys for his fourth year this season.
UNC-Greensboro
UNC-Greensboro (UNCG), a Southern Conference (SoCon) member, finished its 2014 season with a 20-11 overall record and made a semifinals appearance in the SoCon Championship. The Spartans were projected to finish third in the 2015 Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Two preseason all-conference team members, junior Sara Hohman and senior Katherine Santiago, are expected to lead UNCG this year. In 2014, Hohman averaged a program single-season record of 10.86 assists per set and placed second among SoCon players in assists per set. Teammate Santiago was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Year on three separate occasions and paced the Spartans in digs (462) and digs per set (4.57). Corey Carlin, who begins his second year as head coach in 2015, leads UNCG.
Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles opened their 2015 season at the Wright State Invitational on Aug. 28-29. Tech went 0-3 in tournament play, however, showed promising strides in developing a strong team. The opening weekend helped the Golden Eagles learn what areas of improvement they needed to work on, as well as allowed them to become more comfortable working with one another. Tech is comprised of numerous young players and opening the season with four tournaments before beginning conference play will help the ladies further progress their skills.
Notable from last weekend's tournament was Kellie Williams. Williams acquired 37 kills and contributed 39 points over the two days of play, as well as served as a pivotal player in the Golden Eagles offense. Alyssa Povey was named to the Wright State Invitational All-Tournament team and totaled 26 kills, seven blocks, and a .185 hitting percentage. Another player leading the way for Tech is senior Cody Dodd. During the Wright State Invitational, Dodd collected 34 kills, 31 digs, and six blocks. She procured her first double-double for the 2015 season in Tech's season opener match against Evansville, where she acquired 14 kills and 22 digs for the Golden Eagles.
Tech will begin tournament play at the Tennessee Volleyball Classic on Thursday when they take on Tennessee in a 6 p.m. contest. The Golden Eagles will continue play on Friday in an 11:30 a.m. match against North Florida, followed by a match against UNC-Greensboro on Saturday with the first serve slated for 11:30 a.m.
