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Lynn Atherley (Wisconsin-Parkside `90) enters her fourth season as the head coach of the Maine volleyball program after being appointed to the position on July 23, 2004. Atherley, who currently serves on the NCAA All-Region Selection Committee, has enjoyed strong success during her first three seasons and has led the Black Bears to a pair of appearances in the America East Tournament. In all, Atherley has worked with six athletes who have earned nine America East honors, including seven first-team honors. The string of success continued in 2006 when senior setter Shelly Seipp was named to the All-America East Second-Team, after leading the conference in assists. In 2005, Atherley led a young Black Bear team which faced some of the nation's top teams, including nationally-ranked powers Stanford (No. 3) and Minnesota (No. 5). Those matches helped prepare Maine for America East, as it finished 8-4 during the conference schedule and earned the third-seed for the league tournament. Along the way, three Black Bears earned All-America East First-Team honors while a pair of freshman were named to the All-Rookie Team. Shannan Fotter and Kaili Jordan earned first-team honors for the second-straight year, while Shelly Seipp was named to the team for the first time in her career after setting a school record for service aces in a single season with 52. Amy Lawson and Lindsay Allman were named to the All-Rookie Team, while senior Leah Guidinger earned honorable mention all-conference honors. During Atherley's first season at Maine in 2004, she guided the Black Bears to a 17-11 record and an appearance in the finals of the America East Tournament. In addition, the team set a school record for hitting percentage at .227. Over her 13 years of coaching, Atherley has produced 30 players who have earned all-conference honors. She joined the Black Bears after 10 seasons as head coach at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. While at Edinboro, she led her teams to nine NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight four times. Since she took over the program at Edinboro in 1994, Atherley was named Conference Coach of the Year five times (1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003). The team won four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament championships, four NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championships and four NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances. Twenty-five players earned all-conference honors and she has coached numerous All-Region performers and several All-Americans. Overall, she posted a 236-111 record at Edinboro. In her first year at Edinboro in 1994, the Fighting Scots won the PSAC West Division and the PSAC Tournament to qualify for the first NCAA Division II tournament in school history. The team advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and ended the season with a 27-5 record. Following a 14-19 season in 1995 in which the team won the conference regular season title, Edinboro returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1996 and advanced to the Elite Eight. Atherley was named the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year as the team posted a 28-13 record. The team won the conference tournament in 1997 and 1998, advancing to the NCAAs and the Elite Eight both seasons. In 1999, the team finished the season 22-11 and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 2000 season saw the team post their fifth straight 20+ win season and a trip to the NCAAs. Despite a 19-13 record in 2001, the team won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Scots returned to the Elite Eight in 2002 as they posted a 26-9 record, which included a stretch where they won 20 of 21 matches. In 2003, the team went 26-12 and Atherley was named Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time. Atherley began her coaching career at her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she was named the interim head volleyball coach in 1990 and posted a 26-14 record. She remained at Wisconsin-Parkside for two more years, posting a 12-24 record in1991 and a 16-23 record in 1992. During the 1993 season she was an assistant coach at Northern Michigan University, which won the first of two consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships. A standout volleyball performer at Wisconsin-Parkside, Atherley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication in 1990. She had previously completed requirements for a Business Administration Associates degree from the College of Lake County (IL). Atherley also earned a Master's degree in School Administration from Edinboro in 1999. In addition to coaching, Atherley has served on the NCAA Division II Coaches Committee and served as a AVCA national poll voter. She also served as Senior Women's Administrator for two years while at Edinboro. Atherley is married to Maine women's soccer coach Scott Atherley. The couple resides in Glenburn with Scott's son Carson, 8, and their daughter Teagan, who was born on April 18, 2007. |
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