UAH Volleyball Archives

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UAH Volleyball History
through 2006

The UAH Volleyball program began in 1986 under its first coach Leila Nabors. In the inaugural season, the Lady Chargers took some lumps winning only two games. UAH finished the season 2-21. Things got a little better in 1987, as the Lady Chargers managed a 4-18 record. In 1988, the Lady Chargers continued to improve, finishing up 9-33.

The 1989 season saw a new coach take over the reigns of the young program. Joe Hagan took over and led the Lady Chargers to a still improved 10-16-2 record. Hagan coached only a single season before giving way to Connie Nicholson.

Under Nicholson, the Lady Charger program took off. In 1990, Nicholson’s first season, UAH finished with an impressive 23-10 record. It was the first time in school history that the team would finish over .500. The climb up the mountain continued in 1991 and 1992 as the Lady Chargers would win 57 games. In ’91 UAH finished 27-11, then bettered that mark the next season by earning a 30-11 mark.

In Nicholson’s final season at UAH, Charger volleyball became a member of the Gulf South Conference. In its first season in the conference, UAH finished 8-3, with an overall record of 27-17. The Lady Chargers went 3-2 in the GSC tournament and finished third. Nicholson would finish her career at UAH with a record of 107-49.

In 1994, the Laura Taube era began. Taube led the Lady Chargers to a 26-16 record in her first season. UAH also finished second in the GSC in the regular season and 3rd in the tournament. In 1995, the Lady Chargers remained in the elite class of the GSC finishing second both in the regular season and in the tournament. UAH was a game away from winning the GSC tournament, but came up short to North Alabama 3-2.

The Lady Chargers exploded in 1996 having the best season ever. The team rolled to an awesome 37-7 record. However, the Lady Chargers would have to again settle for second place in the regular season and third in the GSC tournament. UAH would actually avenge its loss to UNA the year before, but was stunned in the semifinals by Henderson State.

After finishing 35-10 in the 1997 regular season, UAH was back in the hunt for the GSC title again. The Lady Chargers rolled through the quarters and semis and found UNA waiting. Just as in 1995, the Lady Chargers came up on the short end and had to swallow another runner-up finish.

In 1998, the Lady Chargers made another mad dash at the GSC crown. Again the Lady Chargers would have the second seed with a 10-2 regular season record in the GSC. After suffering their only conference losses to UNA, the Lady Chargers were looking forward to a rematch on the Lady Lions’ home floor. But, it would not come. The Lady Chargers were picked off in the semifinals by Henderson State. The Lady Chargers did meet the Lions in the South Central Region Tournament. However UNA knocked off the Chargers in three games. The Lady Chargers finished the season 32-6.

In 1999, UAH earned a share of the East Division regular season crown and went into the GSC tournament as the No. 2 seed. However, the conference tournament title hopes vanished with a semifinal loss to Arkansas Tech. The season continued with another trip to the regional tournament in Kansas City, MO. Again, UNA ended the Charger’s season with a 3-0 sweep. UAH finished 29-6.

The Lady Chargers stumbled early in the 2000 season. In fact, at some points in the season, the Lady Chargers looked as if they would be knocked out of contention for a GSC tournament bid. However, Coach Taube's ladies battled their way into the GSC semifinal's before falling to eventually conference and South Central Region champion UNA. The Lady Chargers finished the season with a record of 22-14.

The Lady Chargers finished the 2001 season at 28-9 and ranked 20th in the nation. The Lady Chargers were ranked as high as 14th in the AVCA Division II poll and remained in the top 25 the entire season.

Individually, four Lady Chargers earned post season honors. Middle blocker Ellen LaFiore finished a stellar career at UAH by repeating as a GSC Elite Eight finalist. She also earned spots on the All-GSC first team, All-GSC tournament team, Verizon Academic All-District team, All-South Central Region first team and second team Daktronics All-South Central Region. She also left UAH holding the career records for most kills, kill average, attacks and attack percentage.

Two other seniors, setter Jane Baumgartner and hitter Lindsay Dunham both made 2nd team All-GSC for the first time Baumgartner also set a pair of UAH marks in 2001. She set the records for assists and assist average.

In 2002, the Lady Chargers suffered through serious growing pains, finishing under .500 for the first time since 1989. However, although the Lady Chargers finished with a record of 15-19 overall, they still managed to lock down the No. 3 slot in the GSC East standings.

The Chargers also grabbed their share of individual honors. Freshman hitter Emily Miller not only earned a spot on the Gulf South Conference first team, but she was named East Division Freshman of the Year. Sterling and sophomore hitter Kristian Kleminsky also earned spots on the All-GSC second team. In addition, Sterling earned a spot on the Verizon All-District first team. Sterling also left her mark in the Lady Charger record book. She set new UAH records for career dig average (3.44) and single season dig average (4.23). She also moved into second place all time in digs with 1,587.

The 2003 season saw the Lady Chargers climb back above .500, finishing with an 18-15 record. Once again, the Lady Chargers claimed third place in the GSC East. In the GSC tournament, UAH advanced to the semifinals before being knocked out. Emily Miller and Melissa Feldmann were both named to the All-Tournament team. Miller also earned a spot on the All-GSC first team. Teammate Kristian Kleminsky made the All-Conference second team. Kleminsky was also named to the Verizon All-District team for the second straight year.

The Lady Chargers returned to the national stage in 2004, earning a spot in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional tournament. The Lady Chargers finished the season 24-12 and 9-3 in the GSC. They came in second in the East Division. the Lady Chargers were eliminated in the semifinals of the GSC tournament, but advanced to the region tournament where they fell in the first round.

Emily Miller was named first team All-GSC for the third straight year. She was joined by Kristian Kleminsky, who made the team for the first time. Melissa Feldmann and Samantha Polkowski made the GSC second team. In addition to conference honors, Miller was named to the Daktronics South Central Region team and AVCA Region Honorable Mention. She also was named to the GSC All-Tournament team. Kleminsky earned second team CoSIDA Academic All-America after grabbing her third consecutive Academic All-District honor.

The Lady Chargers nearly duplicated their record from 2004, finishing with a mark of 24-13 and 10-4 in the GSC. They also returned to the postseason, advancing to the GSC semifinals and the Regionals before having their season come to an end.

Miller earned her fourth All-GSC honor, along with garnering her second Academic All-GSC award. Bethany Holder made the All-GSC second team and was Academic All-GSC and first team CoSIDA Academic All-District.

It was tough sledding for the Lady Chargers in 2006, finishing with a record of 10-22 and missing out on the GSC tournament for the first time ever. The Lady Chargers were picked to finish second in the East Division, but when preseason All-Conference choice Shannon Polkowski went down with a back injury, things went south. On the bright side, senior outside hitter Kim Beesley earned second team All-GSC honors.

Quick Historical side note: The Lady Chargers have a pair of ties in their all time record. In 1989, several tournaments had two game pool play matches. The matches weren't two out of three. Strange but true. The 1-1 ties occurred at the '89 UAH Classic in matches against Troy State and Bryan College.