The beginning of a new semester at UTM always brings new experiences, but for the Skyhawk volleyball team, this semester marks the beginning of a new era under first-year head coach Amy Draper.

Draper assumes the Skyhawks’ head coaching position after leading the program at West Georgia University for the last three years. She replaces Chris Rushing, who left Martin to become the head coach at East Carolina University.

West Georgia improved dramatically during Draper’s tenure, going from a 2-32 record to a 24-9 mark in just two years.

“Amy brings a very positive energy to the program that is very evident when you watch her interact with the team,” said Danelle Fabianich, assistant athletics director for women and senior woman administrator. “They are responding very well to her coaching style, and I am sure we will see great things coming from this team in the near future.”

Draper enters a program that is only three years removed from its last NCAA tournament appearance. Working to her advantage is her roster, which includes five returning players, led by senior Rebecca Palmer.

Along with the coach come three transfer players from West Georgia. Libero Anna Gautreau, middle Sarah Jett, and setter Morgan Kilpatrick, all sophomores, are making the transition to a new university.

Overall, the roster is young and loaded with underclassmen, including five freshmen and seven sophomores. Palmer is the only senior on the squad, while libero Tammy Konitzer is the lone junior.

The team returns several key players from last year’s squad, which finished 10-17 overall and 7-9 in the OVC, good for a seventh-place tie.

Sophomores Dimphy Sasse and Kathryn Sprague made great contributions on the court as freshmen during the 2004 season, racking up 186 and 183 kills respectively.

Jamie Hollins led all returning players with 219 kills last year.

The team will faced a daunting challenge in their schedule this season as they opened the season with four tournaments at Ohio University, Memphis, and Middle Tennessee State.

Coach Draper sees those competitions as a key element in the growth of her team. “I think it will help us get ready for conference. Our focus has to be to compete within our conference. We won’t be able to do that unless we go outside the conference to play some pretty intense volleyball.”

By focusing on their conference, the Skyhawks will try to earn a berth in the OVC tournament for the first time since 2002.

“We would like to get to the conference tournament,” Draper said. “If we do that, I will feel that we have made a move in the right direction. That’s the first step, and from there we have to continue to build.”

However, Draper recognizes the challenge of coaching a young team.

“There is a lot of youth out there, and you have to be patient and realistic with your expectations. You can’t expect too much too soon,” she said.

One thing you can expect from the team, however, is a great effort every night as they represent the university on the volleyball court in a quest for the OVC championship.

The quest brings them home tonight for the first time as they play host to Lipscomb University at 7 p.m. in the Skyhawk Fieldhouse. The Skyhawks will then travel to Murfreesboro this weekend for another tournament at MTSU. UTM will open up its conference play at home at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23 against Southeast Missouri State.