Lady Vols picked to defend SEC volleyball crown

If the SEC coaches know what they're talking about, Tennessee will again be the queen of SEC volleyball.

Coming off their first outright SEC title in program history in 2011, the Lady Vols were the unanimous pick to repeat in a ballot of league coaches.

Tennessee returns a veteran lineup, led by 2011 SEC player of the year Kelsey Robinson.

"It's great to see our program recognized by coaches in our conference,'' coach Rob Patrick said. "It's a testament to the amount of time and energy our players have dedicated to prepare for SEC play over the last few years, but we haven't earned anything yet.''

UT got 12 of 13 first-place votes. Florida got the other, from Patrick, who wasn't allowed to vote for his own team. (Vanderbilt doesn't compete).

LSU was picked to win the Western Division, with newcomer Texas A&M slated for second.

The other newcomer, Missouri, was picked fourth in the East behind Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.

UT opens the season Aug. 24-25 in the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, against Cincinnati, Florida State and Iowa State.

The Lady Vols went 19-1 in the league last year, losing only at Kentucky.

Here's the preseason vote tabulation:

East: Tennessee 12, Kentucky 30, Florida 35, Missouri 37, Georgia 56, South Carolina 67.

West: LSU 20, Texas A&M 22, Arkansas 27, Ole Miss 52, Auburn 58, Alabama 65, Mississippi State 71.