Haynes named UPike volleyball head coach

STAFF REPORT

BSN

PIKEVILLE — The University of Pikeville has selected its new volleyball coach, who comes to campus with a diverse background.

Mary McNicol Haynes is the seventh coach of volleyball in in the University of Pikeville program’s history.

Haynes comes to UPike from Fairland High School in Proctorville, Ohio, where she not only coached volleyball but also taught Spanish at all levels, including college prep classes.

“We’re very excited to welcome Coach Haynes and her family to UPike,” said Corey Fipps, director of athletics. “She brings a wealth of experience, having been involved in volleyball at various levels and has been successful at all of them, both as a coach and player.

“We look forward to her being a part of our department and welcome her to our family.”

She has also served as educational outreach counselor for the Upward Bound program at WVU Tech, where she was an adjunct faculty member, teaching four different Spanish courses.

Also, Haynes spent time as the associate pastor of Cove Congregational Church in Cove Bay, Scotland. While there, she earned a Master of Theology from Aberdeen University in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Her volleyball experience, in addition to coaching at Fairland since 2018, includes time as the assistant volleyball coach at Mountain State University, where she led practices and conditioning as well as assisting in recruiting and fundraising projects.

She also spent five years as the Club Storm Director and 18R Head Coach at West Virginia Women’s Athletic Development Company in Beckley.

In the 2022 season, she led Fairland to the Ohio Valley Conference and Sectional championship in OHSAA Division II, compiling a 21-3 record, which tied for the most wins in school history. She was the captain of the Aberdeen volleyball team which won the British Universities Sports Association Volleyball Championship.

As a student at Eckerd College, she was president and vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and NCAA Div. II vice president of the Sunshine State Conference.

She was the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year the last two seasons and was a 2019 district coach of the year honorable mention.