January 7, 2016

Ahiers named head coach at Middle Tennessee State

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball coach Dan Ahiers was announced the head coach at Middle Tennessee State Thursday afternoon.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball coach Dan Ahiers was announced the head coach at Middle Tennessee State Thursday afternoon.

Ahiers becomes the 10^th head coach in Blue Raider history as the Blue Raiders went to six straight NCAA Tournaments from 2006-11, but have gone 44-79 since that string. The Middle Tennessee release can be viewed by clicking here.

"Carson-Newman was the perfect school for me to start my head coaching career," Ahiers said. "It has a great athletic director in Allen Morgan, unbelievable and talented head coaches that helped mentor me and more resources than most Division II schools have. I'll never be able to thank the Carson-Newman family enough for what they did for me and my family. In my eyes they are the premiere Christian university in the Southeast."

In two years at Mossy Creek, Ahiers compiled a 56-15 overall record and a 38-6 mark in South Atlantic Conference play. The San Diego native engineered two of the most prolific seasons in Carson-Newman volleyball history going 4-2 in NCAA Championship action over two seasons. In 25 seasons and five prior coaches, the Eagles held a 2-4 mark in the postseason.

"On behalf of Carson-Newman, I want to thank Dan Ahiers for service to the Eagles," Morgan said. "He took Carson-Newman volleyball to new heights. We wish him all of the success in the world and know that he will always be an Eagle at heart."

Ahiers coached 10 players to All-South Atlantic Conference selections, five student-athletes to All-Region nods and the program's first All-American, Jenna Wilson, in his two years.

"I've said it from the beginning," Ahiers said. "The players at Carson-Newman are the hardest working, most talented girls in the South Atlantic Conference. What I'll really miss is the great times we have had off of the court.

"If you want to be successful in life, you have to surround yourself with not only talented people, but people who make you better," Ahiers continued. "The coaching staff I've had the last couple of years has made me better both on and off the court. Kirby Toribio is a model for young women and how they should lead their lives, morally, ethically and spiritually."

2015 was a banner season for the Eagles as Ahiers led the group to the program's first-ever Southeast Region Championship while winning the second-most matches in school history with 29. The 29 victories were also the most in the SAC marking the first time since 2002 a Carson-Newman team accomplished that and the first time since 2005 that a team other than Wingate held that honor.

The team finished in the receiving votes category of the final AVCA Coaches' Poll for the first time in school history, the only team in the region to earn recognition in the poll.

Ahiers became the fastest C-N coach in program history, six coaches, to win 50 games. The second-year coach won 50 of his first 62 contests. Ahiers's predecessor, Shannon Mincey, won 50 of her first 84 matches and held the mark for fastest to 50 wins. He is the fourth coach in SAC history with 50 or more wins in the first two seasons of coaching. Presbyterian's Beth Couture went 58-16 in 1989-90, Ed Allen went 62-13 in 2003-04 and Gardner Webb's Angell Benson went 58-18 in 1996-97.

The California State University Monterey Bay alumnus began his head coaching career with a bang in 2014 leading the Eagles to a 27-7 year, the fewest losses in a season in school history, while recording the school's first NCAA Tournament sweep, an 11-0 road record in conference action and the most wins in SAC play in C-N history with 20.

The signature moment in 2014 for Carson-Newman volleyball came on Nov. 1 when the Eagles took a five-set thriller against seventh-ranked Wingate. It was the first time in Carson-Newman history that the Eagles beat a top-10 ranked team.

Carson-Newman has begun the process of hiring a new head coach to lead the 2016 Eagles. Three of the team's five All-SAC picks are slated to return with Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) and Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) leading a group that will returns four starters and its libero.

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