historyHistory
Volleyball History

Volleyball History

After 33 seasons of competition, the University of Miami volleyball program has produced a winning record of 651-370-1. The Hurricanes have made 14 appearances to the NCAA Tournament, with the highlight of those appearances being the NCAA Regional Semifinal in 2002.

Miami has produced three ACC Players of the Year in 16 seasons in the conference – Lane Carico, Savannah Leaf and Olga Strantzali. The Hurricanes finished as runners-up to Florida State after the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the best finishes since joining the league. In 2017, Miami finished third in the conference after Louisville and Pitt tied for first and then earned a second-place finish in 2021 with Pitt. Most recently, the Hurricanes tied for fourth with Louisville going 12-4 in conference, their best since the 2021 season.

Miami has led the conference in hitting percentage twice, kills per game (twice), blocks, digs and assists per game (once), and aces per game three straight seasons from 2017-2019. The Hurricanes have also recorded 57 All-Time All-ACC selections, seven All-Time All-Freshman Selections, four AVCA All-America Selections and 24 including Honorable Mention, three ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners, two ACC Freshman of Year award winners and two Coaches of the Year winners.

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  • The volleyball program began in 1973 under the direction of Chris Bell.
  • Bell, was at the helm of the volleyball program for two seasons and finished with a 17-17 record.
  • Shortly after, Carol Smith took over for one season in 1975, finishing 12-15.
  • For the next two seasons, Sue Uscier went 30-20 from 1976-77.
  • Prior to the program being suspended in 1982, Cheryl Holt led the Canes for four seasons.
    • Holt finished with a .652 win percentage and a 116-61-1 record.
    • Holt now ranks as the third-most winningest coach in UM volleyball history.
  • There was no Miami Volleyball program from 1982-2000.
  • There was no Miami Volleyball program from 1982-2000.
  • Hurricanes volleyball returned in 2001 under the direction of Nicole Lantagne-Welch. Lantagne-Welch led the Canes for 12 seasons and has the best winning percentage in Miami history at .669 (243-120).
    • Miami made its first NCAA appearance under Lantagne-Welch in 2002 while the Canes competed in the Big East conference.
    • No. 24 Miami defeated Duke 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, followed by a 3-1 win over Wisconsin. Miami fell to No. 4 Nebraska
      • Miami’s ranking was the first top-25 ranking since the restoration of the program
    • Miami held a 26-match win streak over the first two seasons back.
  • Miami played its first season in the ACC in 2004 and finished 17-9 overall, 11-5 in conference.
  • The Canes finished with its second-most wins under Lantagne-Welch in 2008 with a 26-6 record.
  • Miami returned to the NCAA tournament in 2009 for the first time in seven seasons, but fell in the first round to FIU, 3-2.
  • Miami made back-to-back runs to the NCAA tournament in program history in 2010. Miami dropped a five-set thriller to Indiana, 3-2.
  • In 2011 & 2012, Miami finished as the runner-up in the conference back-to-back seasons to Florida State.
  • From 2008-2011, Lane Carico tallied 1,749 career kills, a Miami program record.
  • Lane Carico is one of Miami’s most-decorated student-athletes
    • One of the most decorated freshman in Miami history – 2008 All-ACC Academic Team Honors, AVCA All-America honorable mention, AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-East Region Team, ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC Second Team
    • Named to All-East Region Team – 4x
    • High All-America Player in school history
    • First ACC Player of the Year in Miami history
    • All-ACC Team – 4x
    • 2x – All-America honors
  • The Hurricanes reached the NCAA Tournament for seven straight seasons from 2009-2015, including two appearances in the Second Round.
  • Current head coach, Jose “Keno” Gandara, was hired in 2013, finishing with a 19-12 record and a NCAA First Round appearance.
    • In his first three seasons, Gandara posted three winning seasons and three NCAA tournament appearances.
    • Savannah Leaf – 2012-2014
      • Productive offensive power house for the Canes leading Miami in her final two seasons in kills and service aces
      • Finished her historic career as:
        • 2x All-ACC First Team Honoree (2013 & 2014)
        • Senior CLASS All-America Second-Team honoree and Senior CLASS Award Finalist
        • 2014 Capitol One Academic All-District First-Team & Capitol One Academic All-America Second-Team
        • 2014 AVCA East Coast All-Region honoree
        • 2014 ACC Player of the Year (2nd in Miami history)
        • 2014 AVCA All-America Second-Team
    • Under Gandara, Olga Strantzali became one of the most dominant offensive performers for the Canes
      • In 2017, Strantzali was named ACC player of the Year, third player in program history, ACC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year, earned All-America Honorable Mention, and named to the All-ACC First Team
      • In three seasons with Miami, registered the third-most career kills with 1,448 and most service aces (142) in program history.
    • Miami returned to the Second Round in the NCAA Tournament in 2018, finishing the season 22-6.
    • Haley Templeton became one of the best setters in program history from 2014-2018
      • Third-most career assists in program history (4,632)
      • 4x Preseason All-ACC honoree
      • 2x All-ACC First-Team honoree (2018 & 2017)
      • 2x All-ACC Second-Team member (2014 & 2015)
      • 2018 AVCA All-East Coast Region selectee
      • 2017 All-ACC Academic Team; AVCA All-East Coast Region honoree, AVCA All-America Honorable Mention
      • 2015 All-ACC Academic Team member; AVCA All-East Coast Region Honorable Mention
      • 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year; All-ACC Freshman Team; All-ACC Second-Team; AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year
    • After 2019 season, Gandara has produced eight First Team All-ACC selections, eight Second-Team honorees, two ACC Players of the Year, one ACC Freshman of the Year and two ACC All-Freshman team honorees.
    • 2020 season featured four freshmen in the starting lineup, including Savannah Vach who was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team
      • Vach ranks sixth in Miami history with 1,028 career assists and 13th in assists per season after freshman campaign
      • Kennedy Prince (FR) – recorded second-most kills by a freshman (303) in Miami history since Lane Carico’s 369 in 2008
  • In 2021, Miami returned to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2017, finishing 25-5 overall and second in the ACC, both program bests under Coach Gandara’s leadership. The Hurricanes advanced to the NCAA second round and ended the year ranked No. 14 in the RPI and No. 25 in the AVCA poll.
  • Individually, Savannah Vach and Janice Leao earned AVCA East All-Region honors, with Angela Grieve receiving honorable mention. Leao also garnered AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. Vach was named All-ACC First Team, while Grieve, Leao and Priscilla Hernandez earned second-team honors and freshman Peyman Yardimci was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team.
  • Miami also ranked among the nation’s top blocking teams, finishing 16th nationally in blocks per set (2.65) and placing near the top of the ACC in multiple statistical categories.
  • In Coach Gandara’s 10th year at Miami, he guided the team to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, leading the Hurricanes to a 19-11 record and fourth-place ACC finish (12-6). The season featured a top-10 home win over Georgia Tech and 10 sweeps
  • Once again, Angela Grieve, Janice Leao and Savannah Vach earned All-Region honors, while Leao (First Team), Vach and Grieve (Second Team) and Flormarie Heredia Colon (Freshman Team) collected All-ACC recognition.
  • Miami secured its third straight NCAA Tournament berth in 2023, finishing 18-12 overall and 10-8 in ACC play, highlighted by two sweeps of No. 10 and No. 11 Georgia Tech.
  • Four Hurricanes earned All-ACC honors: Savannah Vach and Grace Lopez (First Team), Janice Leao and Flormarie Heredia Colon (Second Team), with Lopez also named to the All-Freshman Team. Vach and Lopez garnered AVCA East Coast All-Region recognition, and Lopez earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. The Canes added 48 new top-10 program marks, while collecting 10 weekly awards.
  • As a freshman, Lopez delivered one of the top debut seasons in program history, leading Miami with 407 kills (4.11/set) and 454.0 points while hitting .278. She added 27 aces, 178 digs and 38 blocks, posting eight 20+ kill matches and five double-doubles.
    • Second freshman in program history to earn AVCA All-America recognition, joining Lane Carico (2008).
    • Ranked ninth in program history for most kills per set in a season to lead the ACC; led in points and ranked second in total aces
    • In Miami’s record book, Lopez has the third most kills in a match (30) and 10th most (27); seventh most points in a match (31.5); tied first for most kills in a three sets (22), second most kills in four sets (30) and fourth most (27); fifth most attempts in three sets (49); fifth most points in three sets (23); second most points in four sets (31.5) and ninth most (27)
    • Named ACC Freshman of the Week twice; Offensive Player of the Week once; NCAA Big Time Performer
    • AVCA East Coast All-Region
    • All-ACC First Team
    • ACC All-Freshman Team
  • Setter Savannah Vach capped her collegiate volleyball career with an incredible final season to guide the Hurricanes to success
    • Set a new program record in career assists (5241) after tallying 1203 assists in 2023
    • Averaged 10.65 assists per set for fourth best all-time
    • Led the team in digs (257) to finish her career seventh on Miami’s all-time list with 1104 digs; Earned 24 service aces for eighth most all-time (110)
    • All-ACC First Team; AVCA East Coast All-Region Team
    • Earned ACC Setter of the Week four times (three in consecutive weeks)
    • Started the year on preseason All-ACC team
  • In 2024, Keno Gandara guided Miami to its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, the fourth straight and eighth under his leadership, finishing 22-11 overall and 12-8 in ACC play. The Hurricanes earned the No. 8 seed and advanced to the NCAA second round.
  • Miami opened the season with a historic reverse-sweep upset of defending national champion and No. 1 Texas in Austin, which was Gandara’s 200th career win, before adding ranked victories over No. 5 Stanford, No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 25 Arkansas.
  • Flormarie Heredia Colon (Third Team) and Grace Lopez (Honorable Mention) earned AVCA All-America honors, while the duo and Ariana Rodriguez received AVCA All-Region recognition. Miami totaled eight ACC weekly awards.
    • Heredia Colon was second in the ACC in kills (525), points (599.5), kills per set (4.38) and points per set (5.00)
    • AVCA All-American Third Team
    • All-ACC First Team
    • AVCA East Coast All-Region
    • ACC Offensive Player of the Week (11/25)
    • Had a sesason-high and career high 30 kills vs SMU for third most in a single match in program history
  • Despite returning just five players and adding five transfers and five freshmen in 2025, Miami opened the year 15-1, matching its best start since 2002, and highlighted the stretch with a reverse sweep win over No. 4 Pitt.
  • The Hurricanes finished 15-2 at home, only falling to Indiana and SMU who both went on to host the NCAA tournament. They closed the regular season on a seven-match win streak after a tough road loss at No. 5 Stanford and later falling 3-2 at No. 7 Louisville. Miami also earned a season sweep of UNC and was ranked as high as No. 13, narrowly missing a potential first-ever host bid at No. 17 in the NCAA committee rankings.
  • Individually, Coach Gandara produced two All-ACC First Team honorees in Flormarie Heredia Colon and Ariana Rodriguez.
    • Flormarie Heredia has been named the program’s first ever AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist; was an AVCA First Team All-American; broke ACC record for most ACC Offensive Player of the week honors in a season (7) and NCAA D1 regular season record for points per set in the current scoring format.; broke program record for most kills in a match three times; broke the record for all-time career kills with 1,836; broke the single season kill record and many more.
    • Rodriguez was named an AVCA All-American honorable mention and finished the regular season leading the NCAA in total aces (76) and ranking first in the ACC, while fourth in the NCAA, in aces per set (0.63). She also tallied 1,181 assists, good for second in the conference, and earned ACC Setter of the Week three weeks in a row, while also earning Defensive Player of the Week one of those times. Rodriguez also broke the single season record for most aces in a season and currently ranks sixth all-time in career assists (2,239)