Director of Athletics Jasher Cox named Alison Williams as the sixth head coach of the Lincoln Memorial University women’s volleyball program on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
A six-year head coach of NAIA Martin Methodist College’s volleyball program, Williams brought a pedigree of success to Harrogate after leading the RedHawks to 70 wins and a pair of conference championships over her last three seasons.
In six seasons, coach Williams led Martin Methodist from near the bottom of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) to national prominence. After her RedHawks were picked second to last in the preseason of Williams’ inaugural campaign in Pulaski, Tennessee, she guided Martin Methodist to both a regular season championship and SSAC Tournament title in 2019. Guiding the RedHawks to their first-ever NAIA National Tournament victory, Williams registered three consecutive 20-win campaigns as she posted a .673 winning percentage over her last three seasons with a 70-34 record.
After Martin Methodist won just .333 of its matches in her first season at the helm, Williams helped the RedHawks to an impressive 27-11 (.711) record in her final season. For her efforts, Williams was named 2019 SSAC Coach of the Year and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/NAIA Co-Region Coach of the Year.
Taking over the Martin Methodist volleyball program in August of 2014, Williams made an immediate impact as her RedHawks won the most league matches since 2010 and made their first appearance in the SSAC Tournament. With her program claiming 14 wins in 2016, it marked the most victories in a single season for Martin Methodist since 2011 while the RedHawks’ 10 conference wins were the most since 2007.
Williams-led Martin Methodist finished the 2017 season with a 21-11 (.656) overall record for the most match victories since 2007. Awarded AVCA Thirty Under 30 distinction, Williams guided the RedHawks to a 9-5 league record and a runner-up finish in the SSAC regular season race. For the second-straight year, Williams’ team posted the highest grade point average in the athletic department and earned a NAIA Scholar-Team award.
Outdoing Martin Methodist’s 2017 season, Williams took the RedHawks to 22 wins in the fall of 2018 as her team posted a 22-12 (.650) overall record and went 12-4 in the SSAC for the most conference triumphs in a single season since 2007. Finishing as the SSAC’s regular season and tournament runner-up, Williams saw six of her players named all-conference and three earn a spot on the All-SSAC First Team.
Over her last three seasons, Williams coached her players to a total of 19 all-conference selections, including nine first-team recognitions, as Martin Methodist picked up four player of the year awards with the RedHawks laying claim to both the SSAC Libero and Setter of the Year in 2019. Under Williams’ leadership, Sydney Arnold earned back-to-back SSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards as Hayley Brisendine became the first NAIA Volleyball All-American since 2007 this past fall.
Prior to taking over the Martin Methodist program, Williams served as an assistant coach at Bryan College for three seasons from August of 2011 to the summer of 2014. While in Dayton, Tennessee, Williams aided the Lions to a remarkable 85-33 (.720) record, which included the program’s first-ever Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season and tournament championships in 2012. After helping Bryan qualify for the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history in 2012, the Lions repeated as AAC regular season and tournament champions in 2013 while setting program records for total wins (33) and conference victories (19). That season, Bryan went 33-4 and posted a 19-1 mark in AAC play.
Williams earned her Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and health science from Bryan College in 2011. During her career as a student-athlete, Williams starred on the volleyball court where she finished with over 1,400 career kills in over 550 sets played and set the program record for total aces.
Alison is married to Nick Williams and the couple have two sons, Michael and Andrew, and a daughter, Ava.
