Volleyball COACHING STAFF

Carla Decker, hired on Jan. 3, 2006, is the fourth coach in the history of Lander’s volleyball team and the first to lead the school into the NCAA National Volleyball Tournament.

She was named the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading Lady Bearcats to their best season in school history at 23-10, which included a second-place finish to USC Aiken in both the regular season and conference tournament. Lander lost to Aiken in five sets in the tournament championship game.

She was PBC Co-Coach of the Year in 2008 when the team finished 22-12 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's 11-year history, losing in the first round of the Southeast Regional to Amstrong Atlantic in five dramatic sets. She is now 83-52 (.614 winning percentage) in four years at Lander.

Decker’s rookie season with the Bearcats was also memorable as she led the Bearcats to a 20-15 record, a 10-win improvement over the previous year.

Decker served as head coach and senior woman administrator at West Virginia Wesleyan College (2004-05), where she amassed a 39-27 record, including 32-6 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Decker earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994 and her Master of Arts and Teaching in Physical Education from the University of South Carolina in 1999.

Prior to West Virginia Wesleyan, Decker spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Presbyterian College and was head coach at Columbia’s Ridge View High School for three years.

Lorena Maia begins her first season as a Lander graduate assistant coach after a successful playing career at nearby Newberry College. While at Lander she will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.

A native of Brazil, Lorena earned a bachelor's degree in biology and a minor in chemistry earlier this spring at Newberry.

A four-year starter as an outside hitter/middle blocker for Newberry, Maia received her team's Freshman of the Year Award and finished her career as Newberry's all-time leader in kills and aces.