 The
volleyball program at the University of North
Alabama began in 1969 as a part of the Physical
Education Department and was known as
extramurals. In those early years the Lady Lion
teams competed against all of the state schools
as a member of the Association for
Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. UNA
competed in the Northern District with
Jacksonville State, Alabama A&M, Montevallo,
Southern Benedictine and Stillman.
In 1975, in the
seventh year of volleyball competition at the
school, UNA claimed the Alabama State
Championship. downing the University of Alabama
1-15, 15-12, 15-6 in the championship match for
the title.
The Lady Lions
downed Troy State, Auburn and Montevallo in the
preliminary matches before dumping Alabama.
Don McBrayer, a
physical education instructor with the
university then and now, served as the head
coach for that first championship squad.
Lillian Goodlow, a
standout in basketball and volleyball at
Bradshaw High School in Florence, became the
first female athlete to be awarded an athletic
scholarship to UNA in the summer of 1976.
Another major step
came in 1982, when the Gulf South Conference
began awarding championships in women’s sports.
The UNA volleyball team claimed the first
official league title for women with a 3-0 sweep
of Jacksonville State in the championship match.
The Lady Lions
hosted the tournament and won all six of their
matches en route to the championship.
UNA added to that
GSC tradition by winning six of the first seven
GSC volleyball championships, claiming the crown
in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 as well.
Three Lady Lion
volleyball players, Julie Jones, Shea Lindley
and Pasola Swoope, were members of four
consecutive GSC championship teams each during
their playing days at UNA.
Also on the list of
key builders of the UNA volleyball tradition is
Ande Jones, who was a four-year letterman in the
1970’s, was an All-State member of the 1975
state championship team, then returned as a
graduate coach in 1976 and as a full-time coach
from 1979-94.
In 1995, Matt Peck
was hired as the Lions head volleyball coach,
and in nine years he took the UNA program to
the highest national level, with eight NCAA
appearances, four trips to the Elite Eight, two
Final Fours and the 2003 NCAA Division II
National Championship.
In 1996 Peck led
the Lions to a 44-4 record that included the
school's seventh GSC championship and the first
ever NCAA Tournament appearance by a school from
the state of Alabama.
In 1997 Ronda Price
and Mariela Fasce were named second-team AVCA
All-Americans to become the school's first
volleyball All-Americans. In addition, Price was
a second-team CoSIDA/GTE Academic All- America
selection, making her the first athlete in
school history to earn both All-America and
Academic All- America honors. As a team, UNA
claimed its second consecutive GSC Tournament
title and earned its second NCAA Regional bid as
well.
North Alabama
became the first school in GSC history to
advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in
1998. The Lions claimed their third straight GSC
title and first-ever NCAA regional championship.
Also Mariela Fasce became the first volleyball
player in conference history to be selected
first-team All-American.
In 1999, UNA went
35-7, won its fourth straight GSC title and made
its fourth straight NCAA appearance, advancing
to the Elite Eight for a second time. Lana
Fishback, Deja Trojan, Rachel Price and Ronda
Price were members of four consecutive GSC
championships, four straight NCAA Tournament
berths and earned two straight trips to the NCAA
Elite Eight by winning two NCAA South Central
Regional championships. From 1996-1999 the "Fab
Four" compiled a record of 156-22 and 47-1 in th
GSC.
In 2000, UNA went
40-3, won a fifth straight GSC title, made a
fifth straight NCAA trip and reached the
Division II Final Four for the first time. Those
feats came with six new starters and just two
seniors on the squad. Those seniors, Gretchen
Midkiff and Amy Bernstein helped UNA to a
combined 152-21 record over their four years.
Ashley Moffitt and Nesrin Seckin earned
All-American honors in both 2000 and 2001.
In 2002, UNA won an
unprecedented seventh straight GSC title and
13th overall volleyball crown. Sandra Alexander
set an all-time NCAA Division II record for
career hitting percentage and Anna Bondarenko
and Yana Ninova were named All-American.
In 2003 UNA failed
to win the GSC title for the first time in eight
years, losing in the championship match. But
that loss propelled the Lions to even greater
heights as UNA rolled through the NCAA South
Central Regional, the Elite Eight and Final Four
to win the first national championship ever
claimed by a UNA women's athletic team.
Setter Ashley
Moffitt was named All-American for the third
time, led the nation in assists and set two
Division II national records. Ninova was also
named All-American again in 2003 and helped lead
UNA to a 33-7 record. UNA defeated Concordia-St.
Paul 3-0 in the finals to clinch the
championship at San Bernardino, Calif.
In 2004, Stephanie
Radecki became UNA's ninth head volleyball coach
and guided the team to a 24-7 record during her
first season. Vanessa Ferretti received
honorable mention All-American honors as the
Lions advanced to the South Regional Tournament
after regaining the GSC tournament championship
with a 3-1 win over Harding.
The 2005 season was
one of the Lions' best ever as the team posted a
36-2 record and racked up more individual
awards. Ferretti was joined by junior setter
Laura Bellinger as first team All-America
selections.
The Lions fell one
victory shy of the 2006 national championship.
Top-ranked Tampa defeated UNA 3-1 in the finals
of the NCAA Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. The
post-season run capped a 35-6 campaign after the
Lions opened the year with a 7-5 mark. Bellinger
was again a first team All-American, while
Radecki was named the Gulf South Conference East
Division and the South Central Region's Coach of
the Year, each for the second straight season. |
