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Stephanie Radecki,
enters her fourth season at he helm of the UNA
volleyball program after taking over head
coaching duties in February of 2004. With a
95-15 record, she has the highest winning
percentage by a coach in school history.
In her first three
seasons, the former UNA graduate assistant coach
has won three Gulf South Conference
championships, one NCAA South Central Region
championship and a berth in the 2006 National
Championship match.
Radecki’s 2006 team
went 35-6 and gave the school its first Elite
Eight appearance since 2003. After winning their
third straight GSC championship, the Lions went
on to claim the south central title, including a
win over top-ranked and regional host Truman
State in the semi-finals on Nov. 10. UNA downed
Central Missouri 3-0 in the region championship
match, then defeated Ashland and West Texas A&M
at the Elite Eight in Pensacola, Fla.
UNA lost to Tampa
3-1 in the national championship match to finish
the season at the 2006 national runner- up.
Radecki was named
GSC East Division and American Volleyball
Coaches Association (AVCA) regional Coach of the
Year, both for the second time in her career.
She also coached five all-conference players,
three all-region players and two All-Americans.
The 2005 season
proved to be one of the best ever in the Lions’
storied program. UNA went 36-2, breaking or
tying 18 team and individual records at the
school, conference and national levels. Along
the way, the Lions knocked off five ranked
opponents, including top-ranked Truman State 3-1
on Sept. 10. On Nov. 12, UNA also defeated
Harding 3-2 on the Bisons home floor to capture
the school’s 15th GSC championship. The Lions
climbed as high as No. 3 in the AVCA national
rankings and finished the season ranked ninth.
Radecki received
GSC East Division and AVCA South Central Region
Coach of the Year honors while four players on
the roster were recognized by the conference,
regional and national awards programs.
The Lions also had
two players receive All-America honors.
In 2004, her first
season as UNA's head coach, Radecki helped guide
the Lions to a 24-7 overall record and a berth
in the south central regional. She also helped
the team regain the GSC championship as the
Lions went 11-1 in conference play and defeated
Harding 3-0 in the tournament finals.
Radecki came to UNA
after one season as head coach at Saint Leo
(Fla.) University in 2003. She inherited a
program that won the 2003 NCAA Division II
National Championship and filled the vacancy
left by former Lion Coach Matt Peck, who
resigned to become head coach at Division I
Middle Tennessee.
A 1998 graduate of
Edinboro University (Pa.), Radecki earned a
Bachelor of Science degree in Health and
Physical Education and was an outside hitter for
four years on the school's volleyball team.
She was chosen
Female Athlete of the Year at Edinboro once, was
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Player of
the Year as a senior and was chosen All- PSAC
and All-Atlantic Region twice. She was also a
team captain. ?
Edinboro made two
Elite Eight appearances while she played there
and captured two Atlantic Region crowns and one
conference championship.
Radecki then served
as a student assistant coach for one year at
Edinboro as the team won the league championship
and lost in the region championship match.
Radecki came to UNA
as a graduate assistant coach in 1998 to
complete work on her master's degree in health,
physical education and recreation and exercise
science. She helped UNA to and 11th place
national ranking in
1998 and a No. 12
ranking in 1999. She also coached four
All-Americans at UNA and helped the Lions to two
Gulf South Conference titles, two NCAA Division
II South Region crowns and two Elite Eight
appearances. ?
Her next coaching
stop was at Augustana (S.D.) College in 2000
where she assisted in all aspects of the
nationally prominent Division II program.
Augustana won the North Central Conference
championship, the North Central Region
championship and reached the title match in the
Elite Eight before losing in 2000. That team
finished 30-4. In 2001, Augustana finished the
year ranked No. 14 in the nation and lost in the
semifinals of the North Central Region. Radecki
coached three All- Americans, including the 2000
National Player of the Year, during her three
seasons at Augustana. |
