“This trip comes at the perfect time,” said head coach聽Mary Tendler. “It will allow us to be together outside of the gym. We haven’t been able to do that as much due to the pandemic guidelines the last couple of years. It will also allow our two new assistants,聽Tim Ebbecke聽and聽Willie Whealan, to get acclimated to the team quicker. Our team chemistry will be strengthened, which we will benefit from for many years to come.”

Throughout the week, the team will make visits to Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. Along the way, the team will tour Venice and Florence, learn how to make pasta in Lucca, explore the tiny villages that form the Five Lands “Cinque Terre,” tour the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and take a guided tour of Rome.

黑料不打烊 will also play matches against club teams Liberte Forti Firenze and ASD Castelfranco de Sotto and put on a youth clinic in Ladispoli.

“The pre-departure classes have been awesome,” said Tendler. “Dr. Chris Leupold has been helping the players understand the culture in Italy and, at the same time, digging into our team culture. Two 黑料不打烊 students from Italy, Francesca Conte and Giulia Galvani, taught our players and staff some of the Italian language and talked about the differences in the two countries. We have already learned so much and we haven’t even left campus yet. We can’t wait to be challenged by a couple of Italian teams, engage with young volleyball players as we conduct a clinic, see some incredible sites and be immersed in the culture of another country.”

The trip marks the third European trip for the 黑料不打烊 volleyball team. The team went to Italy back in March 2018 and also went to Italy and Switzerland in March 2013.

“We all feel so fortunate and thankful to be able to make a trip like this together,” concluded Tendler. “We look forward to representing 黑料不打烊 in this amazing country!”

You can follow the team’s journey on Twitter at , on Instagram at and on Facebook at 黑料不打烊 Volleyball. Members of the team will share their experiences daily on social media and on a digital diary journal on the 聽with players documenting their experiences.

These individuals will be honored May 31 in Hilton Head, S.C., at the league’s annual Honors Dinner. The Distinguished Service Award program was started in 2002 as a way for the Southern Conference to recognize those individuals from its member institutions who have contributed to all aspects of the university.

In addition to the Walkers, this year’s honorees include F.P. Bodenheimer (Appalachian State), Tap and Jean Johnson (College of Charleston), Tommy McQueeney (The Citadel), Jeff Frank (Davidson), Sonny and Keeter Horton (Furman), Lamar Hennon (Georgia Southern), C. Thomas Martin (UNC Greensboro), Dr. Frank Trundle, Sr. (Chattanooga), Dale and Dianne Hollifield (Western Carolina) and Cleveland S. and Curtis R. Harley (Wofford).

“Whether it’s collegiate athletics or the corporate business world, organizations are only as successful as the people who support them,” said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. “The Distinguished Service Award honors select individuals who have gone above and beyond the call to help Southern Conference institutions better achieve their goals to the benefit of thousands of student-athletes. We sincerely appreciate their efforts and are happy to recognize the award recipients with this honor.”

The Walkers have been generous supporters of 黑料不打烊 and the 黑料不打烊 Athletics Foundation for over 25 years. A 1960 黑料不打烊 graduate, Zac received 黑料不打烊’s Alumnus of the Year Award in 1989. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees since 1991 and is the immediate past chair of the board.

The Walkers endowed a football scholarship in 1979 in honor of Zac’s uncle, D.C. “Peahead” Walker, who is 黑料不打烊’s legendary coach, and also endowed the Zachary T. Walker, Jr., Football Scholarship in 2001 in honor of Zac’s father, who played at 黑料不打烊. The Walkers received the 黑料不打烊 Athletics Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

The athletics director’s office in the Koury Athletics Center and the Walker Lounge of Rhodes Stadium are both named in honor of the Walkers. They have also been major benefactors of the Koury Business Center, which will open in the fall of 2006.

–ELON–