Nancy Muellerfinished her sixth season as head coach of the volleyball program in 2023 at the University of the South.
In six seasons leading the Tigers, Mueller has compiled a 79-63record with one All-American,four All-Region selections and 16All-SAA honors. In the classroom, 82 players have earned SAA Academic Honor Roll accolades.
Sewanee posted a 19-12 mark this past season, tying for third in the regular season standings, and reaching the conference tournament championship match, a first for the Tigers in the SAA. Four players earned All-Conference honors while 16 student-athletes received SAA Academic Honor Roll recognition.
Mueller took over the program in 2018, winning 20 matches (20-8 overall) in a season for the first time in program history since 1999. The team advanced to the semifinals of the SAA Tournament for the second time. Three players earned All-Conference honors while Ellie Pedersen was voted SAA Newcomer of the Year and garnered South Region Honorable Mention accolades by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
Lilly Reilly was named the school's first AVCA/Sports Imports Division III National Player of the Week honor. Academically, eight student-athletes were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
Sewanee's success on the court continued in 2019, with the team posting a 20-10 mark, the first back-to-back 20-wins seasons for the program since the mid-1980s. The team reached the semifinals of the conference tournament for the second straight year.
During that season, Mueller posted her 200th career victory as a collegiate head coach with a sweep of LaGrange (Sept. 13, 2019), becoming one of 12 NCAA coaches across all three Divisions to secure the milestone during the campaign.
Three players garnered All-Conference honors, two were named All-Region and Destiny Stewart earned the second All-America accolade of her career. The Tigers placed a program-best 12 student-athletes on the SAA Academic Honor Roll and the team garnered its first Team Academic Award from the (AVCA) since 2016.
Sewanee played a limited schedule in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just five matches during the spring semester. A program-best 18 student-athletes were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll. The team's 3.62 grade-point-average for the spring semester was the best in the athletic department.
The Tigers returned to a normal schedule in Fall 2021, registering a 10-12 overall record. The club made it back to semifinals of the league tournament for the third time in four years under Mueller. Four players earned All-SAA honors and 14 were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
Sewanee finished 10-16 in 2022, bowing out of the conference tournament in the quarterfinals. Two players received All-SAA recognition and 14 were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
Muellerbrings 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 15 serving as a head coach and an assistant at the NCAA Division I level.
She returned to the collegiate coaching scene at Sewanee after a three-year stint as head coach at Boyd Buchanan School in Chattanooga from 2015-17.
Prior to her return to the Volunteer State, Mueller served as an assistant coach at Indiana University in Bloomington from 2010-14, serving as the recruiting coordinator for the Big Ten institution. During her tenure with the Hoosiers, she oversaw all recruiting efforts, academic communication and monitored player development. In her first season, she helped Ashley Benson to an AVCA First Team All-America accolade.
Prior to her role IU, she served as the head coach at the University Illinois Chicago (2004-08) and the University of South Florida (1999-03), collecting 174 wins in 10 seasons.
While at UIC, Muellercoached three players to All-Horizon League honors and two to the All-Newcomer Team. On a national level, she helped Ambria Springer to an All-American selection with the AVCA.
In her third season with the Flames in 2006, the program reached its first-ever conference tournament championship match en route to a 17-17 overall record and a second-place finish in the Horizon League.
During her time at USF, she was a two-time AVCA Midwest Region and Conference USA Coach of the Year recipient (2000, '02), and she coached six All-Midwest Region players and six First Team All-Conference selections. Alessandra Domingos was a two-time CUSA Setter of the Year in 2000 and 2001 under her tutelage.
During the 2000 season, the program holds the longest winning streak in school history and the fourth in CUSA history, securing victories in 20 consecutive matches from Sept. 22 to Nov. 18. Inside conference play, winning 15 in a row is the second-best mark in conference history, as the Bulls were on their way to the regular season crown in conference play and a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
After winning 21 matches in 2001, Muellerfinished with a 30-7 season in 2002, with the 30 wins the second-most in program history. She also returned to the NCAA Tournament, where they claimed a 3-0 victory over Florida State to reach the second round.
Mueller was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Tennessee as a defensive specialist and setter. She earned a bachelor’s in Education, Exercise Physiology from Tennessee in 1993.
