Belmont Abbey College Women's Volleyball

Elyea enters her second season as head coach of the women's volleyball program. She also serves as the assistant coach for the Crusaders men's program. In her first season, Elyea led the Belmont Abbey to a 16-14 overall record and No. 3 North seed in the Conference Carolinas Championship. The Crusaders finished 9-7 in league play, before falling the quarterfinal round of the postseason tournament. She mentored outside hitter Hannah Schellenberg, who became the school's first All-America selection and a two-time conference Player of the Year pick. In addition, middle blocker Caitlin Hankins and setter Gabby Martinez each were second-team all-conference choices. Elyea came to Belmont Abbey after working the past six seasons as the head coach at Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Ind., an all-women's college that competed at the NCAA Division III level. In 2009, her first season leading the Belles, she saw one of her players receive first team all-conference honors along with two Player of the Week selections. After bringing in a very strong first-year class in 2011, Elyea's team improved in nearly every statistical category. The 2012 season was laden with success. The team captured the North Park Classic, then started league play 4-1, the best five-match record for a Saint Mary's volleyball team since joining the conference in 1997. The season ended with sophomore Kati Schneider garnering first team all-conference honors, making her the fifth player in program history to be named to the first team. During the 2013 season, Schneider repeated as a first-team all-conference selection while Katie Hecklinski earned second-team accolades to give the team multiple all-conference student-athletes for the first time since 2008. As a team, the Belles finished fourth in the MIAA and earned a berth in the MIAA Tournament. In 2014, the Belles posted a 15-13 record, their highest total since 2008 and had one all-conference honoree. During Elyea's tenure, the Belles had five All-MIAA honorees. She saw multiple players achieve Player of the Week honors eight times and coached several athletes to all-tournament team awards. Moreover, Elyea's teams consistently had success in the classroom, including multiple AVCA Team GPA Awards. A native of Pine River, Minnesota, Elyea is a graduate of Pine River-Backus High School. After a successful prep career in volleyball and softball, she went on to play collegiate volleyball and softball at Central Lakes College. During her time at Central Lakes, she was a defensive specialist for two state, regional, and national championship volleyball teams. She also was the starting catcher at Central Lakes where the team finished both seasons as state and regional champions as well as finishing seventh at the national championship in 2001. From Central Lakes, she went on to earn her bachelor's degree in recreation and sport management from Saint Cloud State University in 2005.

Toni Fox enters her 10th season at the helm of Belmont Abbey Women’s Volleyball with a litany of success. Since her arrival in 2015, the program won three division championships and earned the overall regular-season title in 2019. Additionally, the Crusaders made championship game appearances in 2017 and 2018. Fox has coached 18 All-Conference Carolinas selections with Hannah Schellenberg earning AVCA All-America and league Player of the Year honors in 2015. Sarah Kenney was named Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017. The recognitions on the court extended into the classroom as well with 41 players named Academic All-Conference Carolinas. Her teams were honored by the AVCA as All-Academic eight times. Individually, Fox earned Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019. The all-time winningest coach in school history, Fox holds a 122-138 record at The Abbey. She is 185-235 in 14 seasons overall, including six years at head coach at Saint Mary's College, an all-women's college in South Bend, Ind., that competed at the NCAA Division III level. From 2016-19, Fox worked as an assistant coach with the men's program at Belmont Abbey, including a stint as interim head coach in 2017. Her highlights with the team include the school’s first conference championship match berth in 2016 and several all-conference selections. Crusader players won Defensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors as well. Four of her players went on to professional volleyball careers. A native of Pine River, Minnesota, Fox (then Elyea) is a graduate of Pine River-Backus High School. After a successful prep career in volleyball and softball, she went on to play collegiate volleyball and softball at Central Lakes College. During her time at Central Lakes, she was a defensive specialist for two state, regional, and national championship volleyball teams. She also was the starting catcher at Central Lakes where the team finished both seasons as state and regional champions as well as finishing seventh at the national championship in 2001. From Central Lakes, she went on to earn her bachelor's degree in recreation and sport management from St. Cloud State in 2005.