Ex-PT standout named
volleyball coach at Panola
Longview News Journal
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Former Pine Tree high school volleyball standout Nicole McCray was hired as the new head volleyball coach at Panola College in Carthage on Thursday.
McCray, who graduated from Pine Tree High School in 1998, spent the past two seasons as head coach at Georgia Southern, which finished the 2007 season 10-21 overall and tied for seventh of 11 Southern Conference teams with a 7-11 league mark. McCray was an assistant at Georgia in 2005 and head coach at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga., in 2004.
McCray said she jumped on the chance to get closer to home when she discovered the Panola job was open. Former Panola coach Dan Nowalk recently accepted an assistant coaching job at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.
"I've been trying to get closer to home for the last couple of years," McCray said. "I was very excited to be brought in on an interview. Just to get that opportunity was a blessing, and for them to offer it to me, I'm just very fortunate and excited."
McCray said she hopes to keep the Fillies in the national top 20, a goal the Panola program has reached consistently in recent seasons. She also emphasized goals of winning the Region XIV Conference and the national championship.
"We are excited about having someone of her caliber to lead our volleyball program," said Don Clinton, vice president of student services at Panola College, in a press release. "She brings a great winning tradition with her from her experiences as a player and coach, plus with her family. Both of her parents played basketball at Panola College."
McCray said her parents, John and Darlene, met at Panola while both were playing basketball there from 1974-76. Darlene McCray played for Mary Ann Otwell, who won two junior college national titles (1977 and 1978) at Panola and compiled a 102-40 record in four seasons leading the Fillies.
As a player, McCray was a three-time All-America selection at Florida, where her Gators' teams won the Southeastern Conference championship all four seasons she was there. McCray was the SEC Player of the Year in 2000 and a four-time All-SEC selection, helping Florida to four NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the national semifinals.
After graduating from Florida in 2002, McCray spent a year playing professionally in Puerto Rico. She then returned to Gainesville, Fla., as an assistant coach at P.K. Young High School.
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