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Daughters of ex-NFL stars sign

The daughters of two former NFL players have signed with Tennessee women's volleyball team.

Lady Vols coach Rob Patrick announced the signing class Wednesday that includes setter Kelsey Mahoney of Fort Worth, Texas, middle blocker DeeDee Harrison of Nashville and outside hitter Kayla Jeter of Solon, Ohio. They are ranked among the top 100 seniors in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.

"We were able to address every need for our program with our 2008 recruiting class," Patrick said. "A lot of that credit can go to Mike Minnis, our recruiting coordinator, who has done a terrific job of evaluating their talents and providing them with information about the University of Tennessee and our volleyball program."

Harrison is the daughter of former Vanderbilt star Dennis "Bigfoot" Harrison, who spent 10 seasons as a defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. Her brother, David, is a backup a center for the NBA's Indiana Pacers.

Jeter is the daughter of Gary Jeter, who was an All-American defensive tackle for Southern California, and played in the NFL for 13 seasons with the New York Giants, Rams and New England Patriots.

However, it's Mahoney who is the biggest name in volleyball circles. The 5-foot-10 Mahoney is ranked No. 38 on PrepVolleyball.com's Senior Aces list and was named one of the top two setters in the state of Texas by LoneStarVolleyball.com.

"The athleticism that Kayla and DeeDee will bring to the outside and middle hitter positions will allow us to match up with almost any other team in the country," Patrick said. "Add to that the experience and leadership that Kelsey offers, and this group will allow us to continue to compete for SEC championships every season."

Mahoney was selected as the MVP of the Texas Advantage club team, which was named 2006 Team of the Year from LoneStarVolleyball.com. In 2007, she helped TAV 17 Asics place fifth at the Junior Olympics in Minneapolis.

Mahoney was named District 5-5A MVP for Keller High School.

"She has been a tremendous leader for her high school and club teams and that is one of the most important attributes that we look for in a setter," Patrick said. "Her club team runs a similar offense to the system we run here at Tennessee, so she should be able to assimilate herself very quickly.

Harrison, a 6-3 middleblocker at Hillsboro, is Patrick's first in-state recruit during his 11 years with the Lady Vols. She ranks 63rd on the PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces list and plays on the Impact VBC club team.

"DeeDee is an extremely athletic player who has just started concentrating on volleyball over her last two years of high school," Patrick said. "We have been very successful when taking great athletes like DeeDee and helping them become great volleyball players. We feel that DeeDee's potential will help our team match up physically with anybody in the country. She will be a force at the net, both blocking and attacking.

"She is already touching 10-3" and that will only increase as she goes through our skills training and strength and conditioning program at Tennessee. Her potential is unlimited."

Jeter, a 5-11 outside hitter listed as No. 67 on the PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces list, guided Solon High to a 84-24 record during her four years and was a first-team all-state selection this season.

"Kayla is somebody I believe will have an opportunity to vie for playing time very early in her career," Patrick said. "Although she is already a great athlete who plays at the 10-foot level, I think she is a more skilled volleyball player than most people give her credit for. She will have the skill level coming in to be a six-rotation player for us during her first year."

Men's Swimming: Brad Craig of UT was named SEC Freshman Swimmer of the Week.

Against Virginia, Craig placed first in the 200 breaststroke (56.05 seconds), second in the 100 breaststroke (56.05) and third in the 400 individual medley (4:03.34) and helped the Vols win the 200 medley relay.

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