Vannoy signs with Milligan men's volleyball (Citizen Tribune)
Recent Morristown East graduate Hobie Vannoy has grown up in gyms watching his parents Robin and Donnie Vannoy coach volleyball and his sister Halie play the game at East, on the club level and at Middle Tennessee State. Now Hobie finds himself adding to the Vannoy volleyball lineage, and he will do it in a groundbreaking way.
July 22, 2013
Recent Morristown East graduate Hobie Vannoy has grown up in gyms watching his parents Robin and Donnie Vannoy coach volleyball and his sister Halie play the game at East, on the club level and at Middle Tennessee State.
Now Hobie finds himself adding to the Vannoy volleyball lineage, and he will do it in a groundbreaking way.
Vannoy signed Saturday morning to compete on the first ever men's volleyball team at Milligan College this coming academic year, and it's an opportunity Hobie says will be special.
"This is an awesome opportunity, and it's going to be pretty special to be a part of the first team," Vannoy said. "I've been playing volleyball basically my whole life, so it's going to be special and a lot of fun.
"My parents always joked around because I would be in the gym playing volleyball before I could walk. My family has a volleyball background, and I've always been around it."
Milligan coach Doneva Bays said the implementation of a men's program was something she has wanted since her arrival at the school six years ago.
"It's really exciting because we had looked into starting either a JV women's program or a men's program for the past five years, so I proposed the men's program to our administration and they liked the idea of getting more male athletes," Bays said.
"It works well for us because the men and women have opposite seasons, with the women playing in the fall and men playing in the spring."
Bays said the addition of the sport at Milligan will open doors for more male athletes to participate in collegiate athletics.
"I think it adds to the sport in our area, and it will help both our men and women's programs to have each other to work with," Bays said. "I'm excited to have Hobie join the program. We wanted to bring about five players in and then fill the squad with on-campus tryouts, and Hobie will fill one of those five initial spots."
Before receiving the offer to play at Milligan, Hobie had decided to attend the University of Tennessee this fall. That all changed after receiving a call when he returned home from summer vacation.
"It was kind of a crazy week," Vannoy said. "We were at the beach and I had decided I was either going to UT or to LMU to go to school. We got everything set up at UT, and I come back home that weekend and mom gets a call from coach Bays offering me a chance to come play volleyball.
"I thought it was a great opportunity, and I thought about it for a week or so and made the decision to go play."
Vannoy said he was a little shocked to get the news and an offer, and the thought of playing volleyball at the collegiate level drew his interest away from Knoxville.
"I didn't really know what to think when we first got the phone call, but I knew I could play," Vannoy said. "The more I thought about it, my interest started drawing further away from UT and towards Milligan."
Milligan has several athletes from the Lakeway Area, and Vannoy knows a few more students at the school, which he said will ease his transition to campus life.
"There are several people that I know are going to Milligan, so I won't feel uncomfortable or out of place," Vannoy said. "It's a relatively small campus, and it gives you an opportunity to meet new people and create a lot of new friendships."
Vannoy plans to major in broadcasting with his eyes set on being a sports commentator in the future.
Now Hobie finds himself adding to the Vannoy volleyball lineage, and he will do it in a groundbreaking way.
Vannoy signed Saturday morning to compete on the first ever men's volleyball team at Milligan College this coming academic year, and it's an opportunity Hobie says will be special.
"This is an awesome opportunity, and it's going to be pretty special to be a part of the first team," Vannoy said. "I've been playing volleyball basically my whole life, so it's going to be special and a lot of fun.
"My parents always joked around because I would be in the gym playing volleyball before I could walk. My family has a volleyball background, and I've always been around it."
Milligan coach Doneva Bays said the implementation of a men's program was something she has wanted since her arrival at the school six years ago.
"It's really exciting because we had looked into starting either a JV women's program or a men's program for the past five years, so I proposed the men's program to our administration and they liked the idea of getting more male athletes," Bays said.
"It works well for us because the men and women have opposite seasons, with the women playing in the fall and men playing in the spring."
Bays said the addition of the sport at Milligan will open doors for more male athletes to participate in collegiate athletics.
"I think it adds to the sport in our area, and it will help both our men and women's programs to have each other to work with," Bays said. "I'm excited to have Hobie join the program. We wanted to bring about five players in and then fill the squad with on-campus tryouts, and Hobie will fill one of those five initial spots."
Before receiving the offer to play at Milligan, Hobie had decided to attend the University of Tennessee this fall. That all changed after receiving a call when he returned home from summer vacation.
"It was kind of a crazy week," Vannoy said. "We were at the beach and I had decided I was either going to UT or to LMU to go to school. We got everything set up at UT, and I come back home that weekend and mom gets a call from coach Bays offering me a chance to come play volleyball.
"I thought it was a great opportunity, and I thought about it for a week or so and made the decision to go play."
Vannoy said he was a little shocked to get the news and an offer, and the thought of playing volleyball at the collegiate level drew his interest away from Knoxville.
"I didn't really know what to think when we first got the phone call, but I knew I could play," Vannoy said. "The more I thought about it, my interest started drawing further away from UT and towards Milligan."
Milligan has several athletes from the Lakeway Area, and Vannoy knows a few more students at the school, which he said will ease his transition to campus life.
"There are several people that I know are going to Milligan, so I won't feel uncomfortable or out of place," Vannoy said. "It's a relatively small campus, and it gives you an opportunity to meet new people and create a lot of new friendships."
Vannoy plans to major in broadcasting with his eyes set on being a sports commentator in the future.