NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — While many universities are looking at cutting sports programs, Vanderbilt is renewing an athletic program that's been shuttered for 45 years.
"When you get to start a program from scratch, you get to choose — what people are like, how they play, what you want to build your culture around in terms of people's values and things like that," said Vanderbilt head coach Anders Nelson.
Nelson has been building his volleyball program for the past two and a half years, and he got the attention of one local star.
"When I first heard they were making a program, I was like, 'Wow, that is so interesting.' But, I don't think that they want me in their program," said Kayla Dunlap, a 6'4" graduate from Centennial High School. Dunlap is Nelson's first-ever recruit from Middle Tennessee.
"I've always been a coach that gravitates towards potential and what we see for them down the road," said Nelson" "Kayla, you watch her walk through the gym, and you can see all the potential she has, just athletically because of her size and frame, her natural abilities, and just her go-getter mindset...It was pretty quickly that I was like, I want her to be the first Nashville athlete on our roster."
"I'd seen Russ and Anders watch me practice one time...I talked to them, and they were one of the only coaches that I felt that instant genuine connection with," said Dunlap.
Being the first player from Middle Tennessee to make the Vanderbilt roster has a special meaning for Kayla.
"I'm so insanely grateful, and I want to inspire all the young girls from around here that play volleyball, or are starting to get into volleyball, that Vanderbilt has a school where you can do everything — you can go do whatever you want afterwards, and you can reach for the stars," said Dunlap.
Vanderbilt will play its first match later this month against Kansas State in the AVCA First Serve tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"It's been fun to kind of see the energy, the urgency, all of that just kind of pick up around the department...we're ready to go and we're ready to show people what we've been building," said Nelson.
"It's feeling even more real every single day. It's nerve-wracking, but it's also exciting, because I know I wouldn't be in this position if I couldn't do it, if I didn't deserve to do it, and if I didn't work hard enough to do it — so, I just want to make all the people that are important to me, that help make me better, proud and show them that I'm grateful," said Dunlap.
Vanderbilt's first home game will be August 29 against Belmont on Wyatt Lawn.
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