Dynamic duo powers Lady Vols

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- DeeDee Harrison is "kind of a homebody" who didn't want to attend college too far away from Nashville, where she grew up in a very large family. Kelsey Robinson, who's from the Chicago suburbs, was willing to travel farther from home.

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Courtesy of University of Tennessee AthleticsKelsey Robinson earned SEC Player of the Year honors for Tennessee as the Lady Vols won their first outright SEC title.

But they had this in common: Both felt Tennessee was the right volleyball program in which to make an impact.

They were key factors this fall as Tennessee, 27-3 overall and 19-1 in the SEC, won the league championship outright for the first time ever. Now they'll lead Tennessee in the NCAA tournament as the No. 14 seed. The Lady Vols beat Duke 3-1 in their tourney opener Thursday night; they host Ohio State in the second round on Friday.

On Sunday, when Baylor and Tennessee met at Thompson-Boling Arena in women's basketball, the volleyball program was honored during a timeout. The crowd of 16,623 -- 10 times more spectators than the volleyball team got at its final home match Nov. 23 when it clinched sole possession of the SEC title -- roared for this other Tennessee success story.

"It was so great, I wanted to come out on the floor at every timeout," joked Harrison of receiving the crowd's affection. "It felt really, really good."

With eight NCAA titles and legendary coach Pat Summitt, Lady Vols basketball -- which includes Harrison's younger sister, Izzy, a freshman post player -- does tend to overshadow not just the other women's teams in Knoxville, but several of the men's teams, too.

However, the sincere ovation for Harrison, Robinson and their teammates -- it wasn't just polite, obligatory applause -- showed that the "Volley Vols" actually are resonating in Knoxville.

Tennessee has made inroads into the upper echelon of volleyball previously, advancing to the Final Four in 2005. The event was in San Antonio's Alamodome that year, and it's back there this season.

For Tennessee to make it there again, if seeds hold, they would have to face No. 3 seed Illinois in the Gainesville Regional semifinals, and then the winner of No. 6 seed Northern Iowa versus No. 11 Stanford in the final.

The Cardinal have more NCAA titles than any women's volleyball program (six), and although graduation losses took their toll on this year's Stanford group, it's still a dangerous team. Illinois started 20-0 and was ranked No. 1 for a time. Northern Iowa has plenty of NCAA tournament experience. And there's also the potential that unseeded Florida could make it home to Gainesville, where the Gators would then have the home-court edge in the regional.

NCAA volleyball tournament

UCLA and Illinois will play Saturday for the NCAA championship (ESPN2/ESPN3, 8:30 p.m. ET). Bracket | Schedule, results

All that said, considering a nightmare such as the Honolulu Regional and its (at least) four serious NCAA title contenders, Tennessee's quarter of the bracket should offer a more realistic hope that the Lady Vols could survive.

Robinson, a sophomore outside hitter who was named SEC Player of the Year, came to Tennessee for just this kind of opportunity.

"I told her even last year, 'We won't be great until you become the face of this program,'" Tennessee coach Rob Patrick said. "She was a freshman then and wasn't comfortable in that role. That's asking a lot of a freshman. But I still felt that it was something I wanted to get her prepared for. This year, she really took it on.

"She started back in January, becoming our hardest worker. She continued it all summer. And then her teammates voted her captain. Especially for a young kid, to get that respect, you have to earn it."

Robinson became all the more important to Tennessee when senior outside hitter Kayla Jeter tore the ACL in her left knee just before this season started. Jeter had 340 kills last season and 353 the year before, so Tennessee was losing a key weapon in its attack.

Robinson has done a ton to help make up for that, leading Tennessee with 525 kills. She also has 440 digs, second on the team.

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Courtesy of University of Tennessee athleticsDeeDee Harrison comes from a family of distinguished athletes. Her father is a former NFL player, her brother played in the NBA and her younger sister, Izzy, plays for the Lady Vols basketball team.

"Rob had told me, 'If you come here, you can make a big difference,'" Robinson said. "Club volleyball is very good in Illinois, and you don't get that in a lot of states. Even high school is very competitive. I started when I was in sixth grade; that competitive mentality is kind of drilled into you when you're younger."

Harrison, on the other hand, didn't really get into volleyball until she was already midway through high school. But long before that, she was very competitive: With 11 siblings, it's pretty much a requirement.

Her father, Dennis Harrison, played college football at Vanderbilt and then spent 10 seasons in the NFL as a defensive end. Her brother, David Harrison, is a former NBA player. And Isabelle (Izzy) has just begun to make her mark -- especially on the boards -- in Lady Vols basketball.

DeeDee, who is 6-foot-3, had also played hoops since she was 10. But during her junior year of high school, she gave volleyball a try.

"I felt like I was burned out from basketball, so I thought, 'Why not?'" Harrison, a middle blocker, said of playing volleyball. "And it's lucky, because I just happen to be all right at it."

Actually, she's better than that: Harrison was named first team All-SEC, along with Robinson. Harrison has 269 kills, plus 105 block assists and 18 solo blocks.

"She was a great athlete, in state, who we thought had tremendous potential," Patrick said of Harrison. "We didn't need her to start right away, so we were able to redshirt her. I would love to take credit for her, but the reality is, she's the one who put in the work.

"It didn't matter how well we tried to coach her, if she hadn't done the work, she wouldn't be where she is now. To be first team All-SEC as a junior … that's a huge accomplishment from where she started."

It would be huge as well for an SEC team to win the NCAA volleyball title. That has yet to happen, with Florida coming closest. The Gators lost to USC in the 2003 national-championship match.

"I've been here 15 years, and I've seen SEC schools invest more money [into their volleyball programs]," Patrick said. "And they've identified good coaches. It's tougher to get wins, which makes going 19-1 in the league that much more special."

Mechelle Voepel is a columnist for ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com.

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Mechelle Voepel | email

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