Bonnie Kenny Position: Head Coach E-Mail Address: bjkenny@admin.umass.edu

Head coach Bonnie Kenny enters her ninth season at the helm of UMass volleyball. Since joining the program in 1993, Kenny has lead the Minutewomen to a 154-104 (.603) record, including three 20-win seasons, four semifinal appearances at the Atlantic 10 Championship and two trips to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The NIVC appearances marked the school’s first postseason bids since 1980. Her .603 winning percentage ranks her second all-time behind Elaine Sortino (.616). Kenny also reached the prestigious 300-career win mark in 1999 and now stands at 325-214 all-time.

Kenny has built a tradition of success at UMass by recruiting athletes who excel on the volleyball court and in the classroom. She has coached 10 A-10 all-conference selections and three A-10 all-championship picks in her eight seasons with the Minutewomen. In 1996, Dionne Nash garnered conference Player-of-the-Year honors.

Academically, the Minutewomen have also excelled as seven players have received American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-District acclaim and three Minutewomen have been named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District team. In 2000, Jill Meyers received the distinguished Woody Hayes National Leadership Award, which is given to the top male and female student-athlete in the country who demonstrates excellence in athletics, academics and in their community.

Kenny is very involved with the AVCA and currently sits as the Chair for both the All-America and New England Region Awards Committee.

In 2000, she was inducted into the Connecticut Volleyball Hall of Fame for her successful career in volleyball. Before her tenure at UMass, Kenny spent nine seasons as the head coach at the University of South Carolina. She took over the top position in 1984 only a few months after graduating from college.

In addition to her coaching duties, Kenny has been active in national and international volleyball. In 1986, she served on the Olympic Festival Selection Committee and was the supervisor of venue operations for volleyball at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1989.

A 1984 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Kenny was a four-time volleyball letterwinner. She led the Lady Volunteers to two SEC championships, three NCAA Tournaments and a four-year record of 137-56. A three-time team captain, she earned Academic All-America and All-SEC honors in 1983. Kenny was also named to the Dean’s List for seven quarters and was a Tennessee scholar-athlete from 1980 to 1983.

A native New Englander, Kenny graduated from Francis T. Maloney High School in Meriden, Conn., in 1980. Her high school career consisted of four consecutive state volleyball championships at Maloney.

As a senior, Kenny received the renowned Guiffrida Award, given to the most outstanding female athlete in Connecticut. Kenny is the daughter of Jean and Herb Kenny of Meriden, Conn.