So far, so good for Hannah Lawing as the women's volleyball
head coach at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Lawing's first three XULA teams (2013, 2014 and 2015)
won Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships,
and all three qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
The Gold Nuggets have excelled in the classroom, too.
They earned NAIA Scholar-Team awards in 2013-14 and 2014-15 for having
team GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Volleyball is the only XULA team to win
two NAIA Scholar-Team awards.
The 2016-17 academic year will be Lawing's fifth on the XULA
staff and her fourth as head coach. She is 65-22 (.747) through three seasons and
was runner-up in voting for Louisiana Coach of the Year in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Lawing was the 2014 GCAC Coach of the Year.
As a 24-year-old rookie head coach in 2013, Lawing's
Gold Nuggets set a slew of school records, repeated as GCAC regular-season and
tournament champion and earned another berth to the NAIA National Championship.
The Gold Nuggets finished 26-8, setting school season marks for victories,
consecutive victories (20) and hitting percentage (.249). Xavier defeated
city rival Loyola for the first time en route to a three-match season sweep of
the Wolf Pack. Lawing became the fifth to win a conference championship in the
first season as a Xavier head coach.
In 2015, the Gold Nuggets won 11 straight in October
and November and opened the season with a victory against Mississippi Valley,
their first in four years against an NCAA Division I opponent. They averaged 17.01
digs per set and produced a school record in that category for the fifth consecutive season.
They ranked among the top 40 in the NAIA in kills per set, assists per set,
hitting percentage and digs per set.
In 2014, the Gold Nuggets won 10 straight and 20-of-23 in a 20-6 season.
They set school records for winning percentage (.769) and fewest reception errors per set (0.92).
Xavier hired Lawing as assistant coach in August 2012. That year she
was part of a team which was 22-8 overall, 10-0 in the GCAC, won the GCAC Tournament and
regular season and qualified for the NAIA National Championship. When head coach Christabell
Hamilton stepped down after the season, Xavier promoted Lawing. Xavier announced Lawing's
promotion on Dec. 11, 2012.
Prior to Xavier, Lawing was a varsity assistant at Heathwood
Hall Episcopal High School in Columbia, S.C., in 2011 and co-head coach of the South
Carolina Midlands 18s Elite club team in 2012.
Lawing graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2011
with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She played four seasons of volleyball for the
Gamecocks and as a senior set a school record for digs per set with 4.89.
Lawing was an outside hitter and defensive specialist with
the Gamecocks. She was SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice as a senior and once
as a freshman. She excelled in the classroom as a two-time SEC Academic Honor
Roll member and made the dean's list.
Lawing is third all-time at South Carolina with 1,334 digs
and fifth with 3.35 digs per set. As a senior she posted the second-most digs in
program history and the most in the rally-scoring era with 523. That year she also
recorded a USC match-record 38 digs against Mississippi State. Lawing had 23
career double-doubles, including a career-high 28 kills and 14 digs in a four-set
victory against Harvard in 2009.
Lawing also has experience as a sand volleyball player and
coach. She coaches at Digs Beach Volleyball Club in suburban Mandeville, La.
Lawing is a Winston-Salem, N.C., native and lived there 10
years before moving to the Atlanta area. She is a 2007 graduate of Lassiter High School in Marietta, Ga.
| Hannah Lawing's record as head coach of Xavier women's volleyball |
|
|
—All Matches— |
—GCAC Matches— |
|
| Season |
W |
L |
Pct. |
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
Rank |
GCAC Tournament |
NAIA Tournament |
Final Poll |
| 2013 |
26 |
8 |
.765 |
|
12 |
0 |
1.000 |
1st |
3-0, champion |
1st Round |
— |
| 2014 |
20 |
6 |
.769 |
|
14 |
0 |
1.000 |
1st |
2-0, champion |
1st Round |
— |
| 2015 |
19 |
8 |
.704 |
|
11 |
1 |
.917 |
1st-tie |
2-0, champion |
1st Round |
— |
|
| 3 Years |
65 |
22 |
.747 |
|
37 |
1 |
.974 |
3 titles |
7-0, 3 titles |
3 trips, 0-3 record |
 |
Additional Contact Information
Fax: (504) 520-7934
Mail and Shipping: 1 Drexel Drive, Campus Box 92, New Orleans LA 70125
Office Location: Room 304 (third floor) of Convocation Center Annex, 3775 Fern Street
Best Time to Contact Coach: Weekday mornings
