Head Coach Noelle Hughes enters her fourth season at the helm of the Mercer volleyball program. The native of Agoura, Calif., has increased the visibility of the program in her first three seasons with demanding non-conference schedules as well as three consecutive trips to the conference tournament, something no other Mercer head coach can claim in their first three seasons.

Last season, the Bears faced a tough non-conference slate, including five opponents that appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Hughes guided the Bears to their fourth consecutive trip to the conference tournament, the longest in the program's history.

Along with continuing this streak, the Bears also made their marks in the record books. Jen Darty garnered A-Sun Freshman of the Year accolades, becoming the first Bear to do so under Hughes’ helm and the first Bear to earn the honor since Katie Plummer in 2001. Not only that, freshman Chelsea Gebben earned a spot in the NCAA record books, serving 22 consecutive points in a match against Savannah State.  Mercer also set several records in the A-Sun, including the three-game kill (68) and assists (67) records in a match against UNC Asheville. The Bears also made an impact on the school record books, breaking six records in the season and career books.

Not only was Hughes' squad effective on the court, they also excelled in the classroom. Twelve of the 13 members of the 2006 team were named to the Atlantic Sun Honor Roll, the highest number in one season in the history of the program.

In 2005, the Bears got off to a rocky start as they dropped 15 of their first 20 matches including five straight losses to open conference play. Hughes rallied her young team and challenged them to play better down the stretch, and the Bears responded with six consecutive wins to close the regular season, including four straight in conference play. Mercer secured the No. 5 seed in the A-Sun Tourney, marking their third consecutive trip.

In her first season with the Bears, Hughes’ guided her new squad to a 13-16 record and the sixth seed at the conference tournament. Hughes coached Katie Plummer as she finished her career at Mercer and became the first Bear to record over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. Not only that, Hughes was responsible for moving Liz Kane to the libero position, which allowed her to rewrite the Mercer record books and go down as one of the best liberos in the program’s history.

Taking over a program and raising the bar is nothing new for Hughes. Prior to arriving at Mercer, she served as head coach for six seasons at two different schools where she experienced considerable success. In her first head coaching position, Hughes took over at South Carolina Aiken and went 64-42 in three seasons. While at USC Aiken, she coached two players who earned academic All-America honors.

Following her stint at USC Aiken, Hughes spent one season as an assistant coach at Rowan University before taking the helm of the Profs’ program.

Once again, Hughes righted the ship and raised Rowan's expectations.  In three seasons at Rowan she went 65-27 and led the Profs to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. Her 2002 team finished with a 27-9 record and claimed the New Jersey Athletic Conference title for just the fifth time in school history, earning Hughes Coach of the Year honors.

An impressive student-athlete in her own right, Hughes was a four-year letterwinner in volleyball, soccer and track in high school, earning first-team all-conference honors in all three sports her junior and senior years.  She was also named MVP and team captain of the volleyball team during her senior year.

Following her stellar high school career, Hughes went on to star as a setter at Florida Southern.  She was named team captain and MVP, as well as being named second-team all-conference her senior year.

Hughes earned her bachelors degree in sociology from Florida Southern in 1996, where she took her first coaching job as a graduate assistant. She resides in Macon and is engaged to former Mercer soccer standout, Max Rooke.