Nikki Shade Named New Associate Head Volleyball Coach at USF

Newly-appointed USF head volleyball coach Claire Lessinger announced today that she will be teaming up once again with her former Florida teammate, Nikki Shade, as Shade has been named the new associate head coach of the USF volleyball team.

Shade, who played with Lessinger at the University of Florida for five seasons, comes from the University of Houston where she has served as an assistant coach for the last four years under head coach Bill Walton, making her the second USF coach to come to Tampa via Houston. Previous head coach Nancy Mueller was an assistant under Walton from 1995-98 before taking over the USF program in 1999.

Shade has also been a club team coach since 2000.

A setter for the Gators from 1993-97, Shade “quarterbacked” the Gators to three NCAA Final Four appearances (1993, 1996, 1997) and one Elite Eight appearance (1995).

After leading the SEC in assists for two seasons, she was a two-time consensus First Team all-conference selection in 1996 and 1997. She completed her collegiate career ranked fourth in assists with 3,429 and averaged 12.9 assists her last two years with the team. She once passed out 73 assists in leading UF to a 3-0 sweep of nationally-ranked UCLA. A versatile athlete, she also set the school record for block assists in a single match with 11.

In addition to her athletic accolades, Shade was a force in the classroom, earning numerous scholarships throughout her career, including the NCAA Post-graduate Scholarship in 1998. She was named to the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and was a GTE CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1996 and 1997.

Prior to joining the staff at Houston, Shade worked as the Volleyball Administrative Camp Director for the University of Florida Athletic Association. In addition she served as a personal volleyball instructor. Both jobs she performed while doing post-graduate work in exercise and sports sciences at Florida.

A native of New Orleans, La., she attended Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, where she led the team to a 41-1 district record during her varsity career, four-straight district championships, and was named All-State by the Texas Coaches Association.

As a club player, Shade was invited to the U.S. Junior Elite Camp where she was chosen to serve as a team captain for the Junior National Team. She played in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Junior Olympics and was named a World Scholar-Athlete in 1993.

Shade graduated from Florida in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Sciences with a concentration in biomedical engineering and a minor in biomechanics.

"I feel so privileged to have Nikki Shade coming to work with me,” Lessinger said. “She is easily one of the most highly touted assistant coaches in the country. She will be a vital part of taking this program to the next level. Her strengths are endless and I am thrilled about the experience she will bring to all aspects of the job. She is an extraordinary player and work horse in the office. I see us complimenting each other very well and I can not wait to get her here. Success is a direct reflection of the whole staff and USF just got better with the addition of Nikki Shade."

Florida head coach Mary Wise, who coached both Shade and Lessinger, added, “"Nikki's talents will be the perfect compliment to Claire and USF Volleyball. She has been, and will continue to be, a terrific role model for players. We are proud that any of our former players would choose coaching as a profession, and the fact the two of them will be working together, is a bonus."