Mary Tendler was named Elon's new head volleyball coach Wednesday, April 23. She becomes the seventh head coach in the program's history. Details...
This fall, Tendler will lead Elon into its first Southern Conference campaign and 32nd season overall.
Tendler spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at James Madison University, helping lead the Dukes to one Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title and one NCAA Tournament appearance during her time there. A superior middle blocker during her playing days, she was a three-time first-team All-American as well as the 1989 Honda Broderick Award winner for the University of Illinois.
“We are delighted to have Mary Tendler as our new head volleyball coach,” said Athletics Director Alan White. “She has been a highly skilled professional player as well as a fine teacher of the game. We look forward to her leadership of our program.”
Tendler, who played at Illinois as Mary Eggers from 1985-88, came to James Madison from Drake University where she was an assistant during the 1999 season on the staff of her husband, Blaine Tendler, who is the head coach of the JMU men’s club team and an assistant women’s coach at Bridgewater College.
She was an assistant coach five seasons at Illinois State. The Redbirds tied for the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament as well as an NIVC Tournament berth.
Before beginning her coaching career, Tendler spent a year and a half playing with the USA Olympic team and then spent two years playing professionally in Europe. She played for the Schwerte Volleyball Club in Germany in 1991 and the Francheville Volleyball Club in France in 1992.
A four-time first-team All-Big Ten selection for Illinois, Tendler was the league’s Freshman of the Year in 1985, and the Most Valuable Player in 1986, 1987 and 1988. She led the nation in hitting percentage in 1986 and 1988, setting an NCAA record with her .455 mark in 1986. Her career hitting percentage of .420 stood as the NCAA record until 1993 and currently ranks third all time.
Following her senior season, Tendler earned the prestigious Honda Broderick Award, annually presented to the nation’s top collegiate player in their sport. She holds Fighting Illini career records in attack percentage, aces, blocks and kills. She was named the school’s Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s.
“I’m excited to be the new coach at Elon University,” said Tendler. “I’m looking forward to taking the Phoenix volleyball program to the next level. When I met with the players and watched them practice, I was impressed with their intensity and with how willing they are to learn new concepts. The people at Elon are very friendly and the school really sells itself, which is very important in the recruiting process. I can’t wait for the fall season to start.”
Legendary North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow started the Elon volleyball program in 1972. Elon posted a 20-6 record that season and has fashioned an impressive 556-482 slate (.536) during its 31-year existence amidst transitions from the NAIA Division I level to NCAA-II to NCAA-I.