Tech volleyball like a family

Tonya Johnson's path to Georgia Tech started 13 years ago on a New Year's Eve in Lexington, Ky.

She kept a journal -- more of a notebook, really -- filled with run-on sentences that she had started when she was still in college. In it, as part of a new year's resolution exercise, she made a list of "dream schools" where she wanted to one day work.

Because of its location and academic reputation, Tech was on that list. In January that dream came true.

"When I got the call, I thought this could possibly be it," said Johnson, who was an associate  head coach at Texas before being hired by athletics director Dan Radakovich. "It was amazing how everything fell into place and how right it felt at the end of the process. Here I am."

Now, if Tech can defeat Wake Forest on Friday and Duke on Saturday at O'Keefe Gymnasium, that path may lead to the Jackets' first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2004. The Jackets are tied for second in the ACC with the Blue Devils. Gametime for both matches is 7 p.m.

To get her team to this point, Johnson knew what she had to do. The team had talent. What it didn't have was trust or accountability.

Six of the 13 players were freshmen. The upperclassmen weren't sure of them and the freshmen weren't sure of the upperclassmen. What the veterans did know, and what Johnson said she sensed when she interviewed, was that they wanted a sense of ownership, which had been missing.

So, Johnson and the players went on a two-day retreat to Winshape Camp at Berry College before the season. During the day they participated in physical activities designed to help build trust between them. At night they talked and got to know each other.

"We got to know them [the freshmen] on a different level, personal things that definitely give you a bigger picture of what they are about," junior Mary Ashley Tippins said. "I definitely felt a lot closer."

Now, the freshmen say they don't feel the pressure they experienced when they first arrived on campus.

"Even though they're older, they're still going to be there to encourage us and help us through things," said freshman Monique Mead, who is second on the team and seventh in the ACC with 228 kills.

To continue building that trust and accountability, Johnson and her assistants have held team dinners. Johnson uses a collaborative approach to coaching that the players say t helps them to relax on the court.

When she was a player at LSU, Johnson said there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to become a better player. Athletes today are different, she said. She feels they want more than just to be a player.

So she has tried to give them a voice and to make the experience on the court and on campus as enriching as it can be. She learned that from her mentors, LSU coach Fran Flory and Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, who stressed that coaching was more than about Xs and Os, that it was also about building a family.

"I'm already closer to [Johnson and her staff] than I ever was to the past coaches," senior Brittany Roderick said. "It’s a totally different feeling and it’s a positive change. It's something we needed to progress to the next level."

Now they need to take care of this business against the Deacons and Devils. The ACC doesn't have a season-ending tournament. However, the conference champion is  guaranteed a spot in the 64-team NCAA tournament. Though three ACC teams made the field last year, Johnson and her players say they would much rather get the automatic spot, than sweat out an at-large bid.

"We are all on the same page," Tippins said. "We all want the same things. We all want to win the ACC. We all want to make the NCAA tournament."