THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

UNA VOLLEYBALL -- HISTORY     


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 the 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 Central Regional Tournament after regaining the GSC tournament championship.

The 2005 season was one of the Lions' best ever as the team posted a 36-2 record and racked up individual awards. Ferretti was joined by 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. Bellinger was again a first team All-American, while Megan Stout was a third-team selection and Radecki was named the GSC East Division and the South Central Region's Coach of the Year, each for the second straight season.

Whitney Sanders became the program's 11th All-American with a second-team selection by the AVCA in 2008. She was also named first team All-GSC, first team All-South Region and was the GSC East Division Player of the Year.

In 2009, setter Alison Jacobs was named GSC East Player of the Year. She was also a first team All-South Region selection and third team All-American by the AVCA. Sarah Roberts also received an All-America honorable mention as the Lions returned to the NCAA Tournament. Roberts received a second straight AVCA All-America honorable mention in 2010.

UNA returned to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season in 2011 after producing a 24-11 record. Senior Natalie Marsh was an AVCA second-team All-America selection.

Radecki claimed GSC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in her career in 2015 and the Lions won back-to-back GSC titles in 2015 and 2016. The tournament championships gave North Alabama a league-leading 18 titles while Natasha Fomina closed out her career with consecutive All-America honors as a junior and senior. In 2016, she became the fourth UNA volleyball player to earn All-America honors and Academic All-America honors in the same season.

The Lions made the move to Division I in 2018 where they have participated as members of the ASUN Conference. Upon completing the Division I transition and becoming postseason eligible, Head Coach Tristan Johnson lead the Lions to a 13-15 record, the most wins up until that point in the Division I era and the most since 2017.