July 11, 2002

University of North Carolina head volleyball coach Joe Sagula has announced the hiring of two assistant coaches, Jim Lodes and Jill Lytle.

Jim Lodes

Lodes joins the Tar Heel staff with a career record of 276-184 (.600) as a head collegiate volleyball coach, most recently at Lees-McRae College in 2000 and 2001.

Last season he led the Bobcats to a 25-17 overall record including regular and post season championships in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference. That team also made it to the quarterfinals in the Atlantic Region of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championships.

His head coaching experience at the collegiate level began in 1991 with the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year for the Northeast region in 1992 and one year later guided his team to a third place finish in the Division III national tournament. From 1996-2000 Lodes took the helm at SUNY Brockport, also serving as the head coach of the softball team from 1996-1998.

"Jim brings a wealth of experience in coaching," said Sagula, who is entering his 13th season at UNC. "He knows what it takes to run a program. He has done it all from budgeting to training teams to recruiting nationally. He really turned things around at Lees-McRae, and he'll be easy to plug in to our program."

As a player, Lodes was an all-star in 1987 and 1988 with Genesee Community College and an AVP Beach Volleyball player from 1988-1992. He earned Volleyball USA All-American honors in 1990 with the Rochester Volleyball Club. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from SUNY Brockport in 1993 and has a Level 1 accreditation from the USA Volleyball Coaches Accreditation Program.

Originally from St. Mary's, Pa., he began his coaching career at the high school level in 1985 and served as a coach and administrator at the club level in Rochester, N.Y., for 11 years.

Jill Lytle

Lytle, originally from Richmond, Texas, comes to the Tar Heels after spending last season as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee-Martin. There, she helped lead the Skyhawks to the regular season Ohio Valley Conference Championship with a 24-7 overall record.

Prior to joining the Skyhawks, she was a student assistant with the Louisiana State University volleyball team while completing her bachelor's degree in business administration the spring of 2001.

Lytle was a four-year letterwinner as an outside hitter for LSU from 1997-2000, and a Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll selection for all four years. She served on LSU's Student Athlete Advisory Board her senior year.

"Jill played Division I volleyball in a major conference, and she knows what it takes to be successful as a player," Sagula said. "She knows the recruiting process from a player's perspective and is eager to coach at this level.

"The combination of her experience and Jim's will allow them to compliment each other very well."

The UNC volleyball team begins its quest for a fourth-consecutive ACC title and fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament Friday, Aug. 30, in the Carolina/Nike Classic, hosting New Mexico State at 7 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium.