By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team is halfway through preseason practices and the Golden Eagle squad is working hard to prepare for the upcoming year.
"I think preseason is going really well," Golden Eagle Kellie Williams remarked. "Everyone came right in and jelled really well as a team, so now we are just working on tweaking some little things. We have been working on a lot of hitting and defensive patterns and making sure we are running our routes and getting open and ready for the setters."
This year's Tech team will be comprised of five outsides including juniors Kellie Williams and K'Vonna Johnson, sophomore Shealene Little, and freshmen Emily Brooks and Abigail Duncan.
"I think, as a team, we have done a really nice job of coming together," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "The old people have brought in the young ones, and the young ones have been open to the new training and the new style. Level of play wise, we are playing really hard. Probably the hardest that we've played in preseason since I've been here. The discipline is not all there right now, but we are getting good results just by effort alone. And the fact that we have so many people, they're getting a little more of a rest in live play, and when they do get their chance, they are going a little bit harder. So I think that having this many, while it has been hard for us, has also helped us quite a bit."
Williams returns to the Purple and Gold after a solid sophomore year. She stood as the Golden Eagle's second leading attacker posting 328 kills, 44 blocks, and a .181 attack percentage on the 2015 season. Williams put down a career-high 28 kills versus UT Martin on November 13, as well as collected double-digit kills in 16 matches for the Tech team, which has earned her a play on the 2016 preseason All-OVC team.
"Kellie was one of big question marks coming into this year with her shoulder surgery," Zelenock continued. "But she has picked up right where she left off, and is now doing it without pain, which we are really happy about. She was a preseason All-OVC pick, and with the way she's playing, hopefully she delivers on that."
Johnson will also once again join the Tech team this season after a solid sophomore year. She saw 84 sets over 26 matches and recorded 152 kills, 50 digs, and 16 blocks on the year. Johnson set a career-best 17 kills versus Eastern Illinois in the OVC Tournament, while notching a season-high eight digs at Memphis on Sept. 12.
"KK [Johnson] has picked up her game tremendously," Zelenock remarked. "This is still only her third year playing outside, so her first year was just her being thrown into the fire, last year was refining it, and now this year things are really starting to click for her. She is scoring a lot of points for us right now."
Also suiting back up for the Golden Eagle squad is Culver, Ore., native Little. Little saw action in 63 sets over 22 matches her freshman season while totaling 99 kills and 105 digs. She notched a career-best 12 kills versus Western Carolina on Sept. 18, as well as a career-high 14 digs versus UNC-Greensboro on Sept. 5.
"You can look at the arm of our defenders and see that Shay's [Little] here because she is bruising people up," Zelenock said. "Her biggest thing is transition and serve-receive. She's a kill machine, but in transition, she has to figure out what to do to get her arm in position to score."
A new face to the Tech team this season will be Franklin, Tenn., native Brooks. Brooks joins the Golden Eagles after a solid career at Centennial High School. There, she was a three-year letterwinner under head coach Erin O'Day and received multiple player of the week accolades and MVP honors.
"Emily is good at everything," Zelenock continued. "Whatever we ask her to do, she does it really well. For her, it's just a matter of where she fits in the puzzle. She's not a true L1, she's more of an L2, but we've got a couple of those. It's going to be the battle of the L2 spot big time."
Another true-freshman added to this year's roster is Memphis, Tenn., native Duncan. Duncan puts on the Purple and Gold after a four-year career as a starter at White Station High School. There, Duncan was named to the All-District and All-Region teams each of her four years as a Spartan. She was named a Max Preps/AVCA Tennessee Player of the Week on Sept. 2, 2014, as well as named Best of Preps in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Over her high school career, Duncan tallied 1,533 kills, 233 blocks, and 299 service aces while also capturing a sectional championship and state title in 2015.
"Duncan had a slow start, but the last two days she's been playing really good," Zelenock said. "She's a phenomenal backcourt player. She scores from the backcourt and she saves balls from the backcourt. Her front row play has also picked up the last few days and she is starting to score quite a bit."
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on Facebook on the Tennessee Tech Women's Volleyball and TTU Sports pages, or on Twitter at @TNTechVball and @TTUGoldenEagles.
