Camp Staff

COREY CARLIN
Head Coach

Corey Carlin was named the fifth head coach in UNCG volleyball history February 12, 2014. Carlin owns 24 total years of collegiate volleyball coaching experience and will enter his ninth season at the helm of the UNCG program during the 2022 season.

In 2021, the Spartans had a program-best 21 match turnaround from the previous season. The 23 wins under Carlin are the third most wins since joining DI volleyball. Nine of the 23 wins came from inside Fleming Gymnasium. In the Spartan’s first 13 matches, Carlin led them to an 11-2 start, the best program start in the DI era. Three players surpassed career milestones this season: Jenna Wiggs (1,000 digs), Gabriela McHugh (2,000 assists), Kayla White (1,000 digs & 1,000 kills). Carlin led the program to a share of its first regular-season conference title with a 3-1 win over The Citadel.

With a program-best turnaround, Carlin earned his first and the program’s first Coach of the Year honor. Carlin also earned his second Player of the Year athlete with Kayla White joining Ashley Muench, who earned the honor in 2017.  White led the conference in service aces (48), aces per set (0.44), points (528.5), total attacks (1,341), and kills (449). She earned Player of the Week honors four times and Player of the Month honors twice. Along with her Payer of the Year award, White was a NCAA Women of the Year Finalist, Top 30 Senior CLASS Candidate, AVCA All-Region honorable mention, AVCA All-American honorable mention, and CoSIDA Academic All-District.

Joining Carlin and White with the post-season awards was Gabriela McHugh. McHugh earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team. She led the conference in assists and assists per set with 1,207 and 10.41, respectively. She surpassed the 2,000 career-assist mark in a 3-0 sweep over Chattanooga. She set a career-high of 58 assist in a 5-set battle over The Citadel.

The Spartans won 11 matches in 2019.

In 2018, Carlin's Spartans collected 13 match victories which included nine victories at home in Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans began the season with two victories in the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic including a 3-1 victory over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. It marked the first time UNCG had recorded a victory of a power-five school with Carlin at the helm. UNCG also won all three matches in the Spartan-Aggie Invitational, giving up only one set in the process.

Carlin led the Spartans to their first Division I postseason appearance in program history during the 2017 season. The Spartans finished the season with a 19-12 mark, going 11-5 in Southern Conference play for the fourth-consecutive season. UNCG earned an appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) played at campus sites throughout the country for its first postseason appearance. Carlin led UNCG down to Athens, Georgia for a matchup with the UCF Knights for the first postseason match, falling in three sets.

During the 2017 season, Carlin’s Spartans tallied 12 home wins, the most in Fleming Gym since the 1997 season. UNCG opened the season taking two of three games in the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic before sweeping the Spartan-Aggie Invitational for the second-straight season. The Spartans then hosted the American Eagles, a perennial power out of the Patriot League, taking a five-set match from the eventual Patriot League Champions. UNCG closed the 2017 regular season by winning nine of the last 10 matches of the regular season and rode an eight-match winning streak into the SoCon Tournament before eventually falling to league champion ETSU.

The 2017 Spartans saw Ashley Muench earn Southern Conference Co-Player of the Year honors for her performance during her senior season. Muench played in 113 sets and started all 31 matches. She led the team in kills for the third-straight season, tallying 407 kills, averaging 3.60 per set and hit at a .234 percentage. Muench was a four-year letterwinner for Carlin’s Spartans and joined the 1,000-kill and 1,000-dig club during her senior year as she totaled 313 digs in her senior season.

Along with Co-Player of the Year honors, Muench was a First Team All-SoCon honoree along with teammate Allison Penner. Penner led the team with 1,246 assists, averaging 10.38 per set. Those totals rank sixth-most and ninth-most in single season school history, respectively. Joining Muench and Penner with All-SoCon accolades was Freshman All-SoCon honoree Holly Behrends. Behrends ended the season with the second-most kills on the team, totaling 258 and averaging 2.55 per set. Libero Christina Gregory set a program and tied a Southern Conference record by earning her third-career SoCon Defensive Player of the Month during November.

In his third year in Greensboro, Carlin and the Spartans earned the program's highest seed in the Southern Conference Tournament after going 11-5 in SoCon play for the third-straight season.  Four of Carlin's players earned All-Southern Conference honors, including UNCG's second-straight SoCon Libero of the Year in Christina Gregory. Ashley Muench and Allison Penner notched first team honors.  Muench earned her third consecutive Southern Conference honor, being named First Team All-SoCon in back-to-back seasons and earning Freshman of the Year in her rookie campaign. Allison Penner, another former SoCon Freshman of the Year, earned first team honors after averaging 10.88 assists per set and recorded 1,055 on the season.

She ranked 31st in the country in assists per set and added 12 double-doubles having earned 245 digs on the season.  The Spartans earned five SoCon Players of the week, taking three-straight SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors during the month of October.  Gregory earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Month in September and October, the first time a Spartan has earned a Player of the Month honor twice in their career.

In the classroom, the Spartans were awarded the 2017 APR Public Recognition Award by the NCAA, as well as earning the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Team Academic Award, having maintained a team grade point average of at least 3.30. Under Carlin, the Spartans have won this award every year through 2018-19.

Carlin guided the Spartans to consecutive 20-win seasons in his first two years at the helm of the UNCG program.  UNCG improved upon a 20-11 2014 season, finishing 22-11, and 11-5 with a third place finish in the Southern Conference standings in 2015.  After dropping the first three matches of the 2015 SoCon season, the Spartans rattled off a string of 10-straight victories, including sweeps of Western Carolina, Furman, Samford, Mercer and The Citadel twice.

UNCG also had five players earn All-Southern Conference awards, including Katherine Santiago's Libero of the Year honor and Allison Penner earning Freshman of the Year.  It was the second-straight season that UNCG has had a player earn the SoCon's Freshman of the Year award.  2015's Freshman of the Year, Ashley Muench, was the lone Spartan on the SoCon's First Team, while Santiago and Jessica Brezwyn earned Second Team honors.  Jasmine Jones earned recognition on the All-Freshman Team, alongside Penner.  Carlin, priding his teams on ball control, ranked second in the SoCon with 17.41 digs per set, and ranking 16th in the nation in that category.

The Spartans ranked in the top 50 nationally in Team Digs (40th | 2,002), Team Attacks per Set (19th | 38.04), and Opponent Hitting Percentage (28th | 0.169).  Muench nabbed UNCG's lone Player of the Week honor, earning the Offensive honor (Sept. 14).  The Spartans finished the 2015 season ranked 116 in the RPI.

In his first season with the Spartan program, Carlin led UNCG to its first 20-win season since 2010 as well as an appearance in the Southern Conference tournament semifinals. The Blue and Gold finished in a tie for second place in the league standings – the team's highest non-divisional standing since joining the SoCon. UNCG won 11 conference matches during the campaign marking the most victories in a 16-match Southern Conference format.

Additionally, the Spartans were 6-2 in league road matches while completing series sweeps of four SoCon opponents in Chattanooga, Wofford, Mercer and The Citadel. Carlin guided a trio of UNCG players to all-conference recognition in 2014 as seniors Vicky Harley and Kelsey Sidney earned first and second team honors respectively while Ashley Muench was tabbed the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year – the first such accolade for the program since 1998. Stressing the desire to build a team based on ball control, Carlin delivered right away as UNCG finished atop the league rankings in digs per set and in the top 50 nationally. The team also ended up in the top four among SoCon squads in six of seven major statistical categories. Spartan players were recognized throughout the season for their consistent play as the squad garnered a total of six Southern Conference Player of the Week honors while Harley was named the league's Offensive Player of the Month for September. Muench nabbed the Freshman of the Week accolade a SoCon-best three times (Sept. 29, Oct. 13 and Oct. 27).

In terms of national RPI rating, UNCG checked in at a league third-best 156 representing the team's best finish since 2010, when they were ranked 80.

Prior to his arrival in Greensboro, Carlin spent four years as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater Ball State. Over his four seasons, Carlin helped the Cardinals return to championship form with one league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Carlin helped guide the Cardinals to an 87-38 (.696) overall record, including a 45-19 (.703) mark in Mid-American Conference play. He also helped mentor Ball State's student-athletes to 11 All-MAC First Team awards, four All-MAC Second Team accolades, two Academic All-MAC honors and one MAC All-Freshman selection during his tenure.

In his first season on the Ball State bench in 2010, Carlin helped guide the Cardinals to the program's eighth MAC Regular Season Championship and a 24-5 (14-2 MAC) record. BSU's .828 winning percentage was the third-best in program history and ranked 17th in the nation among the 328 NCAA Division I Programs.

He helped coach four players to All-MAC accolades in 2010, with Alyssa Rio and Kelsey Brandl earning All-MAC First Team and Brittany McGinnis and Whitney Heeres garnering All-MAC Second Team honors. In 2011, Carlin helped coach the Cardinals back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2002 season, as Ball State earned the program's second-ever at-large bid into the 64-team event. BSU finished the season with a 25-8 (12-4 MAC) record and ranked 36th in the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings. Ball State also received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Coaches poll for the first time since the 1995 season.

Carlin helped coach a school-record four student-athletes to All-MAC First Team accolades during the 2011 season with Brandl, Jennifer Boyd, Kara Bates and Catie Fred-rich all picking up the honor. Boyd would go on to earn Academic All-MAC honors, while Bates was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team marking BSU's first all-tournament selection since the 2005 season.

In 2012, Carlin helped Bates pick up her second consecutive All-MAC First Team honor, while senior transfer Lisa Scott also earned a spot on the league's top squad. In addition, freshman Jenna Spadafora earned recognition on the MAC All-Freshman Team after playing as both a setter and as an emergence outside as injuries decimated the Ball State attacking corp. The 2013 campaign saw the Cardinals post a 24-8 overall record and earn a share of the MAC West Division title with a 12-4 league mark. Ball State had a league-high five student-athletes earn All-MAC honors with Mindy Marx, Hayley Benson and Alex Fuelling garnering first team honors, plus Fredrich and Jacqui Seidel picking up second team accolades. Benson would also pick up Academic All-MAC accolades.

Prior to joining the Ball State staff, Carlin spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University where he was involved with all duties of daily operations for the program, including serving as the primary recruiter and overseeing academic progress. In 2009, Carlin helped coach Lauren Snyder and Abby O'Connor to Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, with Snyder also earning OVC All-Newcomer Team accolades. The program also finished the 2009-10 academic year with a 3.37 grade-point average, which was the second-highest average among all EKU athletic teams.

Prior to joining the Eastern Kentucky staff for the 2008 season, Carlin spent five years at Austin Peay, including serving as the program's head coach for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. As the Governors' head coach, Carlin helped the program achieve a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate for the 2005-06 season, while administering all aspects of the program.

In his final season as head coach, Carlin helped tutor Dodi Szymsha to OVC All-Newcomer Team accolades. In his first season as the program's head coach, his team established top 10 statistical marks in seven categories in the Austin Peay record books, including top five efforts in total blocks and blocks per game.

As Austin Peay's assistant coach for the 2002-04 seasons, Carlin helped Sarah Schranmka become just the eighth First Team All-OVC selection in program history, when she earned the award in 2004. He also helped Amy Walk earn both Second Team All-OVC and All-OVC Honorable Mention accolades in 2003 and 2002, respectively. Carlin's first collegiate coaching break came in 1998, when he was named the first assistant at Tarleton State University.

After two seasons with the TexAnns, Carlin was named the top assistant coach at Evansville, where he spent 2000 and 2001. Carlin also served as the director of the MidSouth Volleyball Academy from 2004-2008 after co-founding the club from 1996-1998, Carlin was the head coach of the Ball State University men's club team, where he helped guide the program to a 22-10 record in his final season, including a second-place finish at the prestigious Michigan State Men's Club Volleyball Spring Tournament.

Carlin earned his bachelor's degree in general studies with an emphasis in sports administration from Ball State in May of 1998. He earned his master's degree in physical education in May of 2000 from Tarleton State.