Feb. 15, 2013

Bronx, N.Y. - Gini Ullery, an assistant coach at Duquesne University for the past seven years, has been named head volleyball coach at Fordham University it was announced today by director of athletics Dave Roach.

"I'm excited to work with coach Ullery, who brings a wealth of experience with her," said Roach. "I look forward to many great years ahead for the Fordham volleyball program."

"I want the thank Dave Roach and the rest of the Fordham Administration for this opportunity to work with such exceptional student athletes," said Ullery. "I am excited about this new adventure and look forward to establishing a competitive program within the Atlantic 10 Conference."

Over the past seven years, Ullery has helped the Duquesne volleyball program grow into one of the top programs in the Atlantic 10, advancing to the conference championship in each of the past three years. Additionally, the Dukes had their first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America recipient in 2010, a season in which Duquesne set a school mark with 23 wins.

At Duquesne, Ullery saw 12 players named to the Atlantic All-Rookie Team along with two first team All-Atlantic 10 selections and three Second Team picks. Three Dukes were also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic team over the past seven years. She also coached five players who recorded 1,000 career kills and four with 1,000 career digs.

Ullery began her coaching career in 2002 as a student-assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh Volleyball Summer Camp. She has also served as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Volleyball Club in 2006 (14 Red team), 2011 (17 Black team) and 2012 (17 Red team).

A four-year starter at the University of Pittsburgh and an All-Big East first team pick in 2004 and second team All-Big East in 2005, Ullery earned a spot on the AVCA All-Northeast Region team and was an AVCA Division I All-American honorable mention. She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Northeast Region team and was an AVCA Division I All-American honorable mention in 2004. She led the squad to the 2003 Big East championship and two other appearances at the Big East championship tournament, as well as two NCAA appearances (2003 and 2004).

As a junior in 2004, Ullery led the Pittsburgh team in kills racking up 549 and ranked 29th nationally with 4.9 kills per game. She was second for Pittsburgh as a fifth-year senior in 2005 with 378 kills and 257 digs.

Ullery graduated as the Panthers' all-time leader in attempts with 4,196 (currently ranking second) and was third all-time with 1,487 kills (currently fourth) and seventh with 1,024 digs (currently tenth). She is one of only four players in Panthers' history to record over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

A native of Tracy, California, Ullery earned her bachelor's degree in public service with a self-designed concentration from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 as well as a certificate in non-profit management from the school in 2006.