Lyndsay Mashe
ETBU's volleyball program has been in capable hands the last four seasons, as former Tiger standout Lyndsay Mashe has pushed forward with keeping ETBU in the running for the American Southwest Conference championship on an annual basis.
Under Coach Mashe the last four years, the Tigers have won or shared two ASC East titles and have finished no lower than second place in the division race. The program has advanced to the conference postseason tournament every year under Mashe's direction, giving ETBU a streak of nine straight postseason appearances dating back to the 2001 season.
Mashe's teams have won 20 or more matches in a season three straight years, including a 20-11 mark in 2009. The Tigers advanced to the program's first ASC title game match in five years during the 2008 season, and have brought home an ASC East Player of the Year award twice in Mashe's four years as coach (Katie Graves, 2007-08).
Creating excitement for ETBU volleyball has also been a hallmark of Mashe's teams, as the Tigers led the nation in average NCAA Division III home volleyball attendance during the 2007-08 seasons.
Entering her fifh year as head coach of her alma mater in 2010, Coach Mashe has compiled an overall mark of 83-43 (.659) as coach of the Tigers.
Mashe has been able to continue building on the tradition she helped establish at ETBU as a player. She joined the Lady Tigers prior to the 2003 season after playing her first two seasons of eligibility at Panola College, and helped lead ETBU to the last of three straight ASC titles in 2003.
Mashe, formerly Lyndsay Simpson during her playing days at ETBU, earned All-American Southwest Conference recognition as a player in 2003 and 2004, first as a defensive specialist/libero in '03 and then as the Lady Tiger setter in her senior year of 2004. She still ranks third all-time on the Lady Tigers' career assists list, with 1,524.
Before joining ETBU, Mashe won back-to-back all-conference recognition as Panola's setter. Prior to that she was a highly-touted setter coming out of Pine Tree High School in Longview, Texas, where she earned all-state honors for the tradition-rich Lady Pirates.
After graduating in May 2005 with a B.S.E., Mashe took her first head coaching job at Atlanta (TX) High School and guided the Lady Rabbits to a 24-10 record and a playoff run that went two rounds deep in Class 3A. Former ETBU coach Suzanne Wingrove, who won three ASC titles in five seasons as head coach from 2001-05 and who recruited Lyndsay to ETBU, resigned in January of 2006. Mashe was then hired as head coach at her alma mater less than a year after graduation, and she quickly set about building a reputation as one of the brightest young coaches in the league.
In her first season as coach in 2007, Mashe guided ETBU back from an 0-6 start to the season to win 19 games and finish as co-champion in the ASC East Division. It was ETBU's first division championship in any sport since the 2004 season, and the Lady Tigers' first division volleyball championship since 2002.
Nicole McCray Thorn
Former University of Florida All-American middle blocker Nicole McCray Thorn enters her third season as head coach at Panola College. In 2003, Thorn landed her first job as the head coach at Berry College in Rome, Ga., where she led the Vikings to an amazing turnaround that saw the team improve from a 10-25 season in its first year to 22-17 in its second. She coached three all-conference players in 2004, including the Southern States Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Thorn was the first African-American head coach and the first female head coach in school history at Berry.
In her first season at Panola, Thorn finished the year with a 17-15 record and ended the season with a loss to Blinn College (2008 National Champions) in the Region XIV Semi-Final match. Thorn coached four All-Conference players and would later be ranked fifth in the country for the highest team GPA amongst Junior College Programs. The 2009 season would rewrite the history books as the Fillies advanced to the National Championship Tournament for the first time in school history with a win against the #2 ranked Blinn College in the Region XIV Championship match. The Fillies finished the season 28-9 and tied for 11th at the National Championship Tournament.
The Longview, Texas native is well-known in volleyball circles for her accomplishments at Florida, where she helped lead the Gators to the 2002 NCAA Final Four as a senior and was a member of five straight Southeastern Conference championships, which includes a red-shirt year as freshman. The Gators also reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight twice and sweet Sixteen once while McCray was in uniform.
Prior to her stint at
Michele Rosen
Michele Rosen is in her first season as volleyball coach at LeTourneau University after playing four years at Bluffton University in Ohio.
Arden Johnson
Arden Johnson has been with East Texas Juniors for 8 seasons. She is a former All-State player from Canyon High School in New Braunfels. She played in 2 State Tournaments at Canyon. She then went on to play for 4 years at East Texas Baptist University. At East Texas Baptist Arden holds the American Southwest Conference record for kills in a match with 34. She is the all-time leader in kills with 2015 and career aces with 223. Arden earned All-Conference every season at East Texas Baptist. She began her coaching career as a student assistant at East Texas Baptist University in 2006. She then became the Head Coach at Troup in 2007 and has led the Tigers to playoff berths in 2008 and 2009.
Cara Collum
Cara Collum, formerly Causey, was an all-state player at Pine Tree High School, where she played in two consecutive state tournament appearances her junior and senior year. She earned a full scholarship to play at Louisiana State University and earned All- Louisiana team, Florida State University all tournament team, and SEC Academic honor roll in one season. As a coach, in 2009, Collum led the Whitehouse varsity volleyball team to a 39-5 record and the first area championship in 11 years. She coached East Texas Juniors 17 black in 2006 and numerous camps, including summer camp with LSU and “No Shortcuts” camps in 2002 and 2003. Cara is married to Jeff, who works as the executive director of student services at Tyler ISD. The couple has two sons, Caleb and Eli.
While at Florida, McCray was a dominant opposite hitter for the Gators volleyball team from 2003-2007 and a two-year captain. Despite battling knee and shoulder injuries for most of her collegiate career, McCray still finished with 2nd Team All-American honors in 2006, 1st Team All-SEC honors in 2006 and 2007, AVCA All-South Region honors in 2006, and nominations to the Regional All-Tournament Team in 2005 and 2007. Her .351 career hitting efficiency is the highest in school history by an opposite hitter. It also helped her finish her career ranked 10thoverall in the Gator Volleyball record books, right behind her older sister Nicole who is ranked 9th at .352. McCray is one of just five players, and two non-middle blockers, in UF History to hit .300 or better in each of her collegiate seasons. Her .370 hitting clip during her junior season set the UF record by opposite hitters and ranked 4th in the Southeastern Conference. McCray also led the Gators that year in kills per game (3.72) and points per game (4.19).
During her time at Florida, McCray also excelled off the court, earning ESPN The Magazine 2nd Team Academic All-American honors in 2007, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors from 2005-2007, and SEC Academic Honor Roll from 2004-2007. McCray was nominated to represent UF at the NCAA Leadership Convention in 2006, and her efforts in the Gainesville community earned her a spot on the SEC Community Service Team as a senior in 2007. Her senior year, the younger McCray also received the Tracey Caulkins Award, presented to the top graduating female student-athlete who possesses the traits of academic acheivement, athletic achievement, leadership and involvement in the community.
Prior to her tenure at Florida, McCray was a decorated three-sport athlete for the Pine Tree Lady Pirates. She became Texas’ first two-time recipient of the Gatorade High School Volleyball Player of the Year Award in 2001 and 2002. As a senior, McCray was also named the 2003 Texas Girls Coaches Association Volleyball Athlete of the Year and a Top 10 finalist for Student Sports Magazine’s 2002 Senior National Player of the Year. She began playing club volleyball for East Texas Juniors when she was eight years old and continued through high school. During her high school summers, McCray competed internationally representing Team USA on the 2000 and 2001 Youth National Teams, as well as the 2002 Junior National Team. She was also a two-time All-State selection in basketball and a three-time regional qualifier in track and field. In 2003, McCray joined her older sister Nicole in the Pine Tree High School Hall of Fame for her academic and athletic accomplishments.
The younger McCray is now once again following her big sister’s footsteps in her decision to pursue a coaching career. “Words can’t even describe how excited I am for this opportunity at Panola College,” said McCray. “It’s been amazing to watch my sister help build this program from afar, and now I just feel so blessed to be able join her on the sidelines and learn from her as I’ve done so often in my life before.”
Hays, a native of Hereford, Texas, played at ETBU from 2006-09 and was a four-time All-American Southwest Conference East Division selection. The Tigers won or shared two ASC East Division titles during her career and ETBU advanced to the postseason every year during that span, with Hays serving as a valuable team leader both on and off the court.
"We are so excited to have Jane back at ETBU to be a part of our program,” said Mashe, who is entering her sixth season as head coach of the Tigers. "Her knowledge and enthusiasm for the game will be a great addition to our coaching staff.”
Hays graduated from ETBU in 2010 with a degree in Education. She is still the only player in the history of the program to rank in the top 10 all-time in kills, digs and aces.
"I am really excited to be coming back to ETBU, because it is a great opportunity to be a part of a successful program that I am familiar with,” Hays said. "I have the opportunity to learn from great coaches that know what it takes to build a strong team. I can’t wait to get the season going because I think that we are going to have a really good team.”
