Carson-Newman volleyball's first All-American, Jenna Wilson, enters her first season as a volunteer assistant for the upcoming season coach Dan Ahiers announced Monday afternoon. Wilson played her senior year of 2014 in Mossy Creek earning honorable mention All-American by AVCA and Daktronics.

"I think it's going to be a different feel from being a part of the team," Wilson said. "It's definitely going to be a difficult transition for me from playing volleyball for so long to taking on this new role of coaching. I think my desire for the game will transfer over into my coaching."

Wilson's 3.9 points per set were fourth in the SAC while her 3.20 kills per set were fifth-best. Blocking was her forte as her 134 total blocks led the SAC and rank 13th nationally and her 1.17 blocks per set are good for 23rd in the country. The middle blocker was highly efficient as her .388 attack percentage ranks 11th among Division II players. It's a mark that shattered the previous high from a Carson-Newman player set by Katie Troyer's .317 in 2008. Wilson has accumulated double-digit kills on 23 occasions while posting 20 or more a team-high four times. She was a first team All-SAC selection and a member of the All-SAC Tournament team. Wilson won the conference's Player of the Week honor twice while earning the Tennessee Sportswriters Association Volleyball Player of the Week on October 21.

Among other duties, Wilson will be tasked will grooming the young middles for the upcoming season that includes two freshman and a junior transfer.

 "I didn't really know what to expect because none of the people that were middles last year are returning," Wilson said. "I was a little iffy on who is coming in. After seeing them and playing with them, they are a really talented group of girls. It's just about honing in on all of those skills."

The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. started her career at the University of California, Santa Barbara before transferring to Carson-Newman. A newcomer one year ago offered her advice to the incoming class this season.

"Just be ready for Dan," Wilson said. "He's going to yell at you. The most important thing is to be a team and just stick together and make it through all of these hard practices."