Two decorated outside hitters, including two-time All-American Kelsey Robinson, are among four players transferring from the Tennessee volleyball program only weeks after the team made the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
Robinson, who led Tennessee in virtually every offensive category and was named the SEC Player of the Year in 2011, is transferring to Nebraska to play her senior year.
Tiffany Baker, who was an All-SEC second-team selection in both her years at UT, plans to transfer to Texas for her final two years of college. She's from Carrollton, Texas.
Additionally, two setters — sophomore Mary Pollmiller and freshman Bianca Arellano — have also been granted releases to transfer.
Pollmiller was the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year and has played virtually every set for her two seasons. It's not known where she will transfer.
"I can confirm they are all transferring," said Lady Vols coach Rob Patrick, who has led the program since 1997. "This is something that happens in every sport. Florida's football team just finished a top-10 season and a day later two players announce they are transferring. Players leave for a variety of reasons. That happens in volleyball, too."
Baker will be joining the defending NCAA champions in Austin. Robinson will bolster a Nebraska program that has won three NCAA titles, the most recent in 2006.
"Not gonna lie, it's great to be a Husker,'' Robinson posted on her Twitter account Wednesday.
Robinson told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal-Star last month that there were communication issues at Tennessee and that it "wasn't a healthy environment" for her.
But Patrick, who didn't address specific reasons behind any departures, said he believes Tennessee's program is on solid ground.
He cited a graduating senior class that had just completed the best four-year run of any team in school history and an incoming recruiting class that has three players ranked in the top 45 nationally.
"To be honest, the people we're going to miss the most are the seniors who are graduating, because of the leadership they provided," Patrick said.
UT is losing four seniors in addition to the four transfers, but Patrick said the team is well-equipped to handle the losses.
Patrick said the UT roster had 18 players last year, larger than the 14 to 16 that is the typical size of a squad. He expects to sign at least four new players and possibly more in the 2013 recruiting class.
As for positional depth at setter or outside hitter, Patrick said, "That won't be an issue at all."
Tennessee went 22-8 overall and 15-5 in the SEC in 2012, ending the season with an NCAA tournament loss to Michigan. The Vols went 28-4 won the SEC title in 2011.
Evan Woodbery covers Tennessee athletics. Follow him at www.Twitter.com/TennesseeBeat.
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Comments » 51
VOLsince68 writes:
WOW!!!
tnvolfan30 writes:
The whole environment with UT Athletics isnt too healthy right now. How long will the virus last?
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
HUH , i wonder why ?
AllforTenn writes:
Definitely an overstatement. Name all the athletics programs which are having a problem in this "unhealthy environment" you proclaim.
NGage writes:
Seriously....what's going on up on The Hill? The whole place is a mess, from academics it athletics. ...multiple university presidents, multiple coaches, players either in trouble or leaving left and right.
It's embarrassing.
gbeejr#1354500 writes:
Yikes, looks more like a mutiny than just the everyday transfer. Don't often see significant number of decorated players from successful programs just get up and leave. Unhappy no doubt, but why are they unhappy?
lstbodeanvol writes:
Cheek, Hart and the destruction of the well established, well run women's athletic department is probably just part of why these ladies left the university.....
BigBadVol writes:
That's the way it is today. No one honors their commitment to a program. They get a little frustrated and quit. We have raised a bunch of arrogant babies with a sense of entitlement.
scvols writes:
My daughter I went to see the VB team play SC. She finished her HS freshman year and was interested in UT until she saw Coach Patrick temper. Now I don't know if she will ever get to play big time VB, and no I didn't think anything about his temper. He is a hardask and some girls just can’t handle it.
RunningWithTheVols writes:
Heard coach Patrick is a "yeller" and that only goes so far with female athletes.
oldster writes:
Young people today in general do not like to be criticized, embarrassed, or disciplined. They want to be told how good they are and coddled. This is not gender specific issue, but just another symptom of our weakening society.
Pompey writes:
...their still scrubbing the stench of Mike Hamilton out of the athletic department....maybe the oversight folks will think twice before letting just anyone become AD.....and maybe not?
willphill#241787 writes:
The bottom has droped out of the football, basketball, baseball, men's and women's track and field and swimming. We don't have a wrestling and men's soccer program like most colleges. Men's golf is not doing well. Now a program that is successful is losing players. Does that answer your question?
SummittsCourt writes:
Dave Hart needs to go! Fire hart and Hire Joan Cronan!
kevininaugustageorgia writes:
Lord, I miss Doug Dickey!!!
pingkr62 writes:
I think things will get a lot worse before they get better. It's way past time to clean house. AT THE TOP!!!
pingkr62 writes:
PLEASE DON'T RESPOND TO THIS IDIOT!!!
tensie2004 writes:
I don't know what it is but something is not right with the Lady Vols Volleyball team. The two Florida Gators that he spoke about are not transferringn to another school but are foregoing their senior year in order to have their names entered into this years NFL draft. Somethings wrong and I believe we are not being told the whole story.
ktownddy writes:
Outsiders don't know what insiders do. Come on people. You can't intelligently ignore the obvious...
SBWB2 writes:
AMEN...
vol98champ writes:
I keep saying that it can't get any worse. I sure am tired of being wrong.
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say pretending like you know something makes you look real stupid to the people whom do. Witch Doctor say you sound like a gossipy old woman and knowing none of what you say is remotely true makes me feel sad how people get this way.
Bones never lie.
Go REAL Vols
VolInIndy writes:
Are you sure about the gator transfers? I at least read of qb Jacoby Brissett transferring. It could be for being yelled at too knowing Muschamp but it is probably because of Jeff Driskel.
AlexAndersonAAradio writes:
They never were Vols to begin with.Don't you ladies let the door hit you in the........................
flatrock writes:
Probably those orange and black uniforms Patrick borrowed from Oklahoma State...Someone please tell him the brand is Orange and White!
RashaadSalabeb writes:
I smell a skunk!
Go Vols! Go Lady Vols!
BruisedOrange writes:
This is the only comment so far that is both relevant to the problem cited (communication issues) and based on first-hand knowledge.
More gossip here than in my mother-in-law's dining hall at the rest home!
(Thank you scvols.)
jeniapple writes:
Something stinks! Rob Patrick's comment about 2 players leaving from a 90+ player Florida football team being remotely comparable to 4 players transferring from a 16 player volleyball team is an absolute joke. Also, UT almost never grants releases - why did these 4 players get releases?
Kelsey Robinson is probably the best all-around player to ever play at UT. All 4 players transferring played a ton, so playing time is not the issue. Texas just won the national championship, and Nebraska is typically a Final Four team. These programs wouldn't want any part of players who are troublemakers.
There have been other transfers (1 or 2 per year) which have been chalked up to playing time or personality issues. There's also been a revolving door of assistant coaches.
The real question is how was this handled by AD Dave Hart. There's little doubt that Joan Cronan would have been all over it. With Dave Hart's general attitude towards women's athletics, was this something UT hoped to just sweep under the rug? Is Rob Patrick being asked the tough questions that need to be answered?
Something definitely stinks...
TheVolMan writes:
Jenni, that was an excellent, intelligent post. Ignore any sheep who criticize you, or any of the other posts in this thread questioning the treatment of the women's programs at UTK. These loudmouths are either rednecks or budding rednecks posting from their parent s basement.
rusty_shackleford writes:
People vote with their wallets & their feet.
BillVol writes:
Rob's been here a long time and I don't believe has ever had this problem before. I would chalk this up to bad apples. Good riddance. Go to Kelsey Robinson's twitter account. She sounds like a 13-year-old girl.
tlallman writes:
If it was just one player or even two players transfcerring, I would say okay. But four at one time is a big RED flag that something is seriously wrong. This coach needs to be investigated.
BigBadVol writes:
Exactly right!
ambrown64 writes:
Here is a BIG part of the problem on the hill: For years, our athletic department had true Tennessee pride. It was not a soundbite or a marketing ploy - it was a culture that was sincere in its belief that "The Hill" was a special place, and that it transcended the ups and downs of any sport, any crisis any scandal.
In an increasingly free agent-minded, me-me-me, distraction prone, short attention span world, we had something that can be called a "unifying principle." Pride in being Tennessee was REAL, not a manufactured sentiment cooked up in a marketing department to drive sales/recruiting/whatever.
When Hammie decided to throw out Phil and brought in Kiffie, who denigrated the UT brand and put USC pics up everywhere, we in many ways lost our soul.
Football is the head and the heart of the athletic, and perhaps the institutional culture. I remember as Phillip was fired, and even more, as I saw what we replaced him with, I was sad. Not because of the football coaching aspects of it, but because I knew that having the Fulmer/Majors regime going all the way back to 1976, that "the platform" of our athletics was old-school. I mourned the passing of that culture, because I knew that we'd never get it back.
This is not a "pro-Fulmer" declaration. It is a pro-UT old school culture declaration. The Bean Counter Hammie thought he was clever and tried to bring brash, aggressive, TV friendly faces in, but failed to properly valuate our culture as UT's most important asset. Football had some bad trend lines, no doubt. Even then, Hammie should have exhausted all options to do a refurb as opposed to a rebuild. Because once that culture is gone, it's gone.
We had this old-school familial atmosphere with people who really FEEL the place, which buys you these sort of things:
- that pride and belief is felt by recruits - they're not just seeing a facility and hearing a pitch - they are feeling the love of the institution that oozes from the people. It is tough to fake that, or sell it with words -- but when people feel it, they know it. They are also seeing a place that rehires and takes care of its own, maintains its own on a coaching staff or as a GA, etc.
- it creates a situation where, even if there are tensions and territorial issues between coaches, sports, etc., it is generally true that they are united under the same flag - and I don't mean the same organization, I mean the same spirit.
- it buys you a situation where, if a coach is a yeller, or this or that, it is in the context of a community and sense of place - which may make it more bearable.
We are now trying to run, or manage, or be clever about marketing all of these sports, but we pulled out the collective heartbeat and stomped it to death. The sports are stand-alones now, and our athletic department is just another corporation.
Tnvolsfan4ever writes:
Great post Jenni. Totally agree.
ambrown64 writes:
You seem to really be in the know, and I agree that his comment about the FL players doesn't even "pass the straight face test." It is a terribly flawed analogy, and reaks of arrogance and defiance.
I've also yet to be impressed by Hart's management of the organization, or of instances. Lord Farquad kind of guy it seems.
But...Patrick was around for years, and apparently there have been conflicts and rifts between players and coaches for a long-time. Wasn't that on Joan Cronan's watch? Has he ever been held accountable, reviewed, warned...anything?
tnvols402 writes:
First of all, what the heck does football have to do with any of this? Next, here's the problem. Not one of you actually care that much about the volleyball program. If you sctually carednyou would have known that...There have now been 6 girls that have transferred in the past two years. SIX. Kelsey Robinson was among four in the class of 2010. The class of 2010 was ranked 4th IN THE NATION. (Check your information) Wouldn't a coach want to build off of that instead of lose 3 of the 4? And for someone to transfer in their last year of eligibility what does that tell you? If she couldn't handle the yelling wouldn't she have left sooner?
KevDVol writes:
Stop wasting your time. Dave Hart is not going anywhere over Volleyball. But if Football is still tanking in 3 years, he will join the other multi-millionaire ex-Vol employees. Until then, chill.
BillVol writes:
I got this information from a big volleyball fan:
Robinson didn't train very hard last offseason, played overweight and unmotivated all year, got benched a couple of times and her attitude spread. Baker was hurt most of the year and got frustrated. Team picked to win the league never got fully healthy from various injuries, never got a consistent lineup and under performed. That contributed to the poor morale. Time to rebuild.
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
The coach must be a complete AH, All*Americans don't just quit and transfer out..
tnvols1998 writes:
I've never been inclined to create an account and comment here before, but these comments are just too much. If you're a Tennessee fan, no matter if the team is wrestling, gymnastics, whatever, you should want us to field the best team we can! I'm not particularly a football fan, but even I have been disgusted with what's going on there.
Obviously the volleyball team has some problems. Some of the commenters posted that the departed girls couldn't handle the hard work and yelling. They're transferring to Texas and Nebraska, people! Those are elite level programs (both echelons above Tennessee) with hard-core coaches. Those coaches aren't going to take any lazy a** bad apples to mess up their programs!
Where this is going to kill Tennessee is in recruiting. Every coach is going to pull this stuff out as reason not to come to Tennessee. Word gets out as to what really happened - it already has. This coach needs to start updating his resume. If this debacle doesn't get him in hot water, the soon to be losing seasons will.
The thing I found most irritating is the coach's comment that who they'll really miss is the 4 graduated seniors. Bahaha! Not their All-Americans or the only 2 setters on the roster?!?! That reeks of arrogance and a pathetic attempt to take a stab at the girls who left. Those girls may well be laughing their way to a national championship at much better programs than Tennessee's.
tnvols402 writes:
Yes to what tnvols1998 said.... Right on!
twicevolalum writes:
People like her made me hate the sport. Almost every team I played with, competitively or for recreation, all had at least 1 but often 2 or 3 extremely arrogant girls and young women. Their attitudes made the whole experience deplorable. This is one reason why I moved away from thinking about playing at the next level and focused on other sports. I don't know why Volleyball brings out such rude catty women.
77VolnVA writes:
This just doesn't sound or feel right. It's one thing to be buried on a depth chart and ask to transfer for playing time, but that is not the case here. Someone in the Athletic Administration needs to have an exit interview with each of these girls and find out what the rationale is for their departures. I've been around coaching most of my life, and yes there is yelling and other ways to motivate players. When a player is in their final year, they should already know the routine and how the coach works. As well, the coach should know how and what motivates their players. To lose 4 players like this, for a total of 6 over the past two years from a program that only carries 14-16 players just stinks.
twicevolalum writes:
I will say, I had really wanted to play volleyball. My freshman year would have been 1996. In the fall of 1999 or so there was an article in the Daily Beacon that out of 6 recruits in 96, only 1 made it to her senior year. Again, it confirmed my decision to have left that personality disorder sport behind. It also could have indicated problems that the players had with Rob Patrick. IDK.
BillVol writes:
twice: If you had been good enough, you would have played.
twicevolalum writes:
Well thank you so very flipping much for your complete and thorough analysis of my athletic career. Life isnt always about being good enough... sometimes stuff happens, like you lose a coach or transfer schools or just dont have enough money to travel 400 miles in HS to a residential volleyball camp. Also, as i said I made the decision before college not to pursue playing this sport in college, not that i didnt have some interest locally where i was from. I actually did another sport at UT, but again, thats beside the point. The point of my post wasnt about me but it was that this volleyball team has had a history of losing players before they complete their eligibility.
BillVol writes:
twice: Rob Patrick took the Lady Vols to the Final Four in volleyball. That would be like you and me building a spaceship and going to the moon. Impossible. But Rob did it. Rob has nothing to prove to anybody. He is a great coach and a great person.
Anyhow, great coaches like Rob are very good at deterimining good talent for their teams. Like I said, if you had been good enough, you would have played.
wayoutwill writes:
The word is officially out on this coach,though many of us that keep up with the sport had heard the whispers,and this isn't the first time around the mulberry bush,but these players were completely waylaid after a loss to Michigan,and that was the straw that broke the camel's back! he will never get the players back that he needs and his job is gone,he may last,if his players that are left go to the wall for him and they win,i doubt it,give him two years--three at top--the days of Bobby Knight are over--another Coach that got too big for his britches--I look for these tyrannical Coaches to be outed more and more as generation "Y" or whatever they call themselves begin to realize they are being exploited by big time money making business people,who are interested in their own welfare and not the players--a revolt is on the horizon!
ColdBlackWind writes:
Did Cronan not hire Patrick?
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