Tiger Volleyball

PETER CRUZ, JR.
Assistant Coach
First Season
North Carolina, 2003

North Carolina native Peter Cruz, Jr., is in his first season as assistant coach at the University of West Alabama, coming on board in July.

Cruz joins the UWA staff after leading the Cape Fear Community College volleyball program from 2007-09. The University of North Carolina graduate led the Sea Devils to a 31-18 overall mark in his two seasons at the Wilmington, N.C. school, including an 18-win season in his first campaign. CFCC finished the Carolinas Conference with a 16-4 mark in 2007. Cruz, tutored five players to All-Conference status along with three players earning All-Tournament honors. Under Cruz, the volleyball program raised its team’s grade point average from a 2.3 to a 3.27 in his two-year stint as head coach.

Cruz and Turner coached alongside each other at CFCC, as Turner assisted Cruz, Jr. during the 2007 campaign. Along with his coaching duties at CFCC, Cruz served as an assistant coach for the United States Marine Corps men’s and women’s volleyball teams last summer and this past June. Cruz helped guide the men’s team to a 6-0 mark against the Army, Navy and Air Force en route to the gold medal of the armed forces tournament. He also traveled to Germany to compete against 14 other countries in the 29th World Military Championships.

The Havelock, N.C.-native has an extensive background in volleyball. At UNC, Cruz was a member of the men’s club volleyball team as a player and also served as the coach of the squad. As a player, he started at middle and right side hitter from 1999-2003. His coaching duties included fundraising and managing the team’s travel. Cruz also coached the women’s club volleyball team on the Chapel Hill campus.

Prior to his two-year stint at CFCC, he guided a pair of 18-under squads with the Carolina Region High Performance Volleyball program in Greensboro, N.C. He also mentored the Cape Fear Volleyball Club in Wilmington, N.C. from November, 2007 to this past April.

Cruz, earned his Bachelor of Arts, Management and Society from UNC in May, 2003.

EDOLI HERRION
Graduate Assistant Coach

Edoli Herrion, a former four-year University of West Alabama volleyball player, enters her second year with the volleyball program as a graduate assistant. Herrion played for the Red and White from 2001-2004, playing two seasons fro Phillip Bryant and her final two campaigns under the guidance of Karisa Wesley.

Herrion, a Daphne, Alabama-product, appeared in 136 games as a Tiger along with compiling 116 kills during her career. As a senior, Herrion ranked fifth on the team in kills with 82. She posted a career-best seven kills against Southern Arkansas. She posted three six kill performances in 2004 - vs. Lewis (Ill), UAH and Martin Methodist. As a middle blocker, she ranked second on the squad in 2004 with 56 total blocks.

Herrion earned her undergraduate degree from UWA in exercise science. She is the daughter of Eddie and Lola Herrion and has four siblings, Eddie, Atlas, Leigh, Tiffeny and Mechelle.