2007 Volleyball Season Preview

After two years of rebuilding, the Tojan volleyball team ended the 2006-2007 regular season on a winning note, taking third place in the tough TranSouth Conference.

Trevecca volleyball coach Scott Jones had two primary goals entering this recruiting season - find talent and build depth. "Last year's team was a contender in the TranSouth, but we simply didn't have the depth to deal with late-season injuries," says Coach Jones. "That deficiency hurt us - particularly in the TranSouth Tournament."

The Trojans lost three players from the 2006-07 volleyball team, but a good core group of six players return and will be joined by the eight new players who will see the floor for the Trojans this season.

"We have a great incoming class," Jones states. We are bringing in seven freshmen and one junior college transfer, so the depth issue has been adressed, and I think fans will notice the difference."

Another area in which the Trojans are making an adjustment is scheduling. "Normally we play in four away tournaments each year," Jones explains. "This season, we are cutting down to to just two away tri-matches and one tournament."

Trevecca's schedule is also front-loaded with away matches, a move which, according to Jones, has a two fold impact. "Obviously, the more a team can play at home towards the end of the season, the more rest the team will get as it heads into the post-season."

Jones adds, "Even more importantly, this team takes pride in its academic standing, and having more home games offers more opportunity to concentrate on academics."

Last year, the team cumulative GPA was 3.40. With the freshmen's grades deducted, the team had a 3.60 GPA. Last year's team was rewarded for its academic exelence by being one of just 16 NAIA teams honored on the AVCA Honor Roll.

Trevecca's lone true tournament takes place at the beginning of the season when the Trojans travel to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Trojans will return from that tournament and immediately embark on a five match road trip, which includes a trip to one of the toughest gyms in the TranSouth, Union University. Once Trevecca returns from that trip, nine of the team's next 15 dates on the schedule are in Moore Gymnasium, and with the exception of the team's two tri-matches at McKendree College October 12-13, the last consecutive road matches are at Freed-Hardeman and Lambuth on September 25 and 27, respectively.

With a favorable schedule and a much deeper bench than a year ago, Jones and the Trojans want to improve on last year's 20-15 record. "The work ethic these girls have is contagious," says Jones. "I think the talent of the incoming class will push the returning players to work harder, which in turn will push the newcomers to work to improve their game."