Tenney Named Chowan Head Volleyball Coach

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina -- The Chowan University athletic department announced the hiring of Melody Tenney as Head Volleyball Coach on Wednesday.

Tenney noted, "I'm very excited to be joining the staff at Chowan University. I look forward to building on the previous success of the Hawks' volleyball program while maintaining a winning tradition. I love the family atmosphere that Chowan has on campus."

Vice President/Director of Athletics Ozzie McFarland added, "When Meredith Long and I began looking for volleyball coaches, we wanted an enthusiastic coach who had previous head coaching experience on a similar level, and who knew how to manage a team. Melody Tenney fits that description perfectly. I am so excited about what she brings to both our volleyball program and our University. Her Christian witness, academic expectations, and emphasis on being successful exemplify exactly what I feel our University stands for."

Tenney spent the past two seasons as Head Coach at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia. After inheriting a team that won five games in 2013, Tenney doubled the program's number of wins in her first season (10-26) and advanced to the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in program history. The Lady Bears also produced two NAIA Academic All-Americans that same season.

In 2015, Tenney led the Lady Bears to a school-record eleven wins. The team also saw several student-athletes earn individual honors with two All-AAC Freshman Team honorees (including AAC Freshman of the Year Jocelyn Mahayag), one AAC First Team recipient and three AAC All-Academic Team members. Truett-McConnell posted an 11-19 overall record over the course of the season and finished 7-13 in AAC play during Tenney's final season with the squad.

Prior to her time at Truett-McConnell, Tenney gained experience as an assistant coach at Piedmont College. There, Tenney helped the Lions earn a 28-9 overall record during the 2013 season highlighted by a school record 13-match win streak.

Tenney prepared herself to coach at the collegiate level through head coaching positions with the Orlando Volleyball Academy and Club Bomba. She also served as head coach of the varsity volleyball program at Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Florida.

Tenney began her college playing career at Warner University before transferring to the University of Mobile. In three seasons with the Rams, Tenney earned Setter of the Year and All-Conference accolades while ranking as high as third in the NAIA for service aces (75). Tenney also set school records for assists per match (55), assists per season (1,376) and ranks second all-time with 2,755 total assists and third all-time in total aces (187) and aces per season (75).

Tenney earned a Bachelor's of Science in Accounting from the University of Mobile in 2012 and obtained a Masters of Business Administration from Piedmont College in 2014.

The Tallahassee, Florida native currently resides in Murfreesboro.

COURTESY CHOWAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION