Volleyball Release - Parrish Named Head Coach - Guilford College

Greensboro, NC (01/07/03) --  Guilford College athletic director Marion Kirby announced the appointment of Glenda Parrish as the Quakers' head women's volleyball coach Tuesday. The third volleyball coach in school history, Parrish replaces Chuck McCracken, who resigned December 31 after compiling a 136-179 record in 11 seasons.

A native of Winston-Salem, NC, Parrish returns to the Piedmont Triad after coaching Lenoir-Rhyne's volleyball team for the past eight years. The Division II Bears compiled a 109-156 mark under Parrish, including a 19-13 record in 2000, the school's best season since 1989. She guided Lenoir-Rhyne to three straight winning seasons from 1999-2001 after nine consecutive losing campaigns and saw seven players combine to win 12 all-conference commendations. Parrish coached all-region performer Michelle Baity, a four-time first-team all-league pick and the Bears' only South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Freshman of the Year.

A veteran Junior Olympic club volleyball coach, Parrish founded the Hickory Inspirational Spikers (HIS) Club in 1995 and coached teams in two national tournaments. She is member of the American Volleyball Coaches' Association and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and completed Coaches Accreditation Program (CAP) I and II in USA Volleyball's certification program. Parrish chaired the 2000-01 SAC Volleyball Coaches' Committee and voted on the weekly AVCA/NCAA Division II national poll in 1999.

As a senior at Ledford High School in Thomasville, NC, Parrish earned Most Valuable Player honors and helped the Panthers to their first state volleyball title in 1981. She continued her playing career at Catawba College where she competed against Guilford in the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC). A team MVP, Parrish earned All-CIAC and All-NAIA District 26 honors for Catawba as a senior in 1985. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in public recreation in 1986 and earned a master's degree in physical education from Alabama A&M in 1994. She served as the assistant volleyball coach at Alabama-Huntsville from 1992-94 and helped the Chargers to a 57-28 record in two seasons. Parrish started coaching volleyball at Forbush High School in East Bend, NC, in 1990 and also directed the volleyball team at Wiley Middle School in Winston-Salem in 1994-95.

Parrish inherits nine letter winners from Guilford's 2002 volleyball team, which went 12-17 and reached the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament for the 11th time in 12 years. Guilford's 12 wins marked its most since 1997.