USC-Upstate hires Shirley to lead volleyball program

Navarro College’s head volleyball coach Ronda Shirley has been named to the head coaching position The University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans volleyball team. “While it is a major loss for Navarro College, we are very excited for Ronda and her family for this great career opportunity,” said Michael Landers, Athletic Director. “She changed the culture of our volleyball program the moment she stepped on campus and has set us up to continue to build on the success the program has had over the past two seasons.” Shirley, an NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, takes over a struggling USC Upstate Spartan program that’s experienced 11 losing seasons in its first 12 of NCAA Division I volleyball as a member of The Big South Conference. The Spartanburg, SC, university enjoyed great success at NAIA and Division II levels, but its most successful D-I season since 2007 was a 15-15 finish in 2015. Rebuilding projects are nothing new to Shirley, whose two Navarro teams went 65-19 with unprecedented successes after transforming the culture of a program that went 6-30 in 2016. Last season, Shirley’s school-record-setting Bulldogs went 38-7, earned a program-high No. 3 ranking, claimed a No. 4 seed in...