Alan Edwards returns for his fifth season with the Gaels after taking charge of the program in June 2006.
Under his tutelage, the Gaels have reached the MAAC Championship in three out of four seasons. Iona finished fifth at the 2006 event at Walt Disney's Wide World of Sports and had semifinal appearances in both the 2007 and 2008 championships at Siena College. The Gaels have posted three straight seasons with a .500 or better record, with a 30-24 in the regular season since the 2007 campaign.
While in New Rochelle, Edwards has mentored Allison Nieters to three-straight major postseason conference awards. The current senior earned the 2007 and 2008 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and 2009 Libero of the Year accolades. After earning a "Rising Star" by Collegiate Volleyball Update as one of the nation's top freshmen, Nieters has gone on to breaking nearly every defensive dig record at Iona and looks to do the same with the MAAC record book in 2010.
Edwards also coached three-time All-MAAC, and 1,000+ kill club member Sarah Wiener in her final three seasons along with the 2009 MAAC Rookie of the Year, Rachelle Wilson.
Academically, the Gaels under Edwards have performed exceptionally well with more than 3/4 of his student-athletes eligible earning MAAC All-Academic or Academic Honor Roll distinction. To be eligible for either honor, a student-athlete must be a sophomore or higher and hold at least a 3.20 GPA.
Edwards came to New Rochelle after spending the 2005 season as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA. His previous coaching experiences include a stint as an assistant at the University of Wyoming and as a head coach at Mercer University in Macon, GA.
In his only season at Wyoming, Edwards served as the Cowgirls' recruiting coordinator where his 2005 class was given a High Honorable Mention award by PrepVolleyball.com, ranking the school among the Top 50 recruiting classes in the country.
Prior to his stint at Wyoming, Edwards spent four seasons as head coach at Mercer. He posted a four-year record of 52-73 and guided the Bears to the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament for the first time since 1996. Edwards compiled an 11-29 record in A-Sun play and led Mercer to its most wins ever in conference play in 2003, going 7-3 and earning the No. 4 seed at the A-Sun Championship. He took over the Mercer volleyball program in 2000 after the Bears had gone a combined 6-48 in the two years prior to his arrival.
A native of Brevard, NC, Edwards spent one season as an assistant at Troy State before accepting the Mercer position. Prior to his stint at TSU, the Western Carolina graduate spent the previous 10 seasons at the high school and club level. He guided Brevard High School to three consecutive state playoff appearances after inheriting a team that finished 4-16 the year before he arrived.
While in the high school ranks, Edwards was instrumental in bringing club volleyball to the Western North Carolina area. He helped found the Biltmore Volleyball club team in 1993 and worked with that squad until 1999.
The North Carolina native resides in New Rochelle.
