Having lost arguably the most prolific player in program history to graduation following the 2010 season— Nikki Fowler — the University of Tennessee volleyball team managed to secure the top recruiting class in the SEC and No. 8-ranked in the nation overall.

Head coach Rob Patrick and former assistant coach Gregg Whitis brought in outside hitter/middle blocker Tiffany Baker, middle blocker Shealyn Kolosky, defensive specialist Nikki Brice and setter Mary Pollmiller.

"We are extremely excited about the talent and athleticism within this recruiting class," said Patrick. "It is a very skilled and driven group that should provide an immediate impact on our program. Each of these players have spent a lot of time in the gym above and beyond what is normally required to hone their abilities to the highest level."

Baker headlines the prestigious group, having been named the MaxPreps National Player of the Year after leading Hebron High School (Carrolton, Texas) to a 44-7 record, the Class 5A state tournament and recording 661 kills, 296 digs and 276 blocks.

Soon after, Patrick added transfer Stephanie Stoll — a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from the University of Washington. Stoll joined the program as a redshirt freshman with four years of eligibility.

"The first thing that jumps out about Stephanie is her athletic ability," said Patrick. "She is a dynamic jumper that will immediately help us along the net defensively. She is already a very physical blocker and we are excited about her offensive potential as well."

Another new face who was added to the program over the summer was former Iona College head coach Alan Edwards — the team's new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
"I am very excited about adding Alan to our coaching staff," said Patrick. "He brings a wealth of volleyball experience, both as a head coach and assistant coach from a number of Division-I programs, and is someone who I feel will be able to assimilate himself into our team very quickly."

But success for the 2011 squad will most likely balance on the shoulders of five key players from last year's NCAA tournament team, including: junior MB DeeDee Harrison, sophomore OH Kelsey Robinson, junior MB/OH Leslie Cikra, senior OH Kayla Jeter and senior setter Kelsey Mahoney.

Jeter returns as the leading offensive threat having posted 340 kills (.304 hitting percentage) as a junior, while Robinson boats 367 digs (3.60 per set) from her rookie season in 2010. Of the returners, Cikra comes in with the third-most kills (215) from 2010 and a .298 hitting percentage, while Harrison enters her junior campaign as the second-leading blocker (102 total) from a year ago. Meanwhile, Mahoney enters her final year at Tennessee on the heels of a strong junior season that saw her finish tops in totals assists (777), second in assists per set (6.31) and third in serve percentage (.966).

And while navigating through their always tough SEC schedule, the Lady Vols won't be hard to find on television. In fact, the Big Orange will be featured four times during the upcoming season in conjunction with ESPNU, SportSouth (SPSO), Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and Cox Sports Television (CST).

In those matches, Tennessee will go head-to-head with Florida (Sept. 25), Kentucky (Oct. 12), Arkansas (Oct. 2) and LSU (Nov. 20).