Melissa Batie-Smoose, who has spent nearly 20 years coaching at nearly every collegiate level, was named The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball at Cornell University in April 2012, and immediately established an up-tempo, aggressive style of play that paid dividends that were evident right away.
Last season, the Big Red finished the 2013 campaign with a record of 8-16 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy League, despite a line-up that featured one sophomore and three freshmen in the starting rotation. Cornell proved to be strong defensively, ranking first in the conference in blocks (2.27 per set) and third overall in opponent hitting percentage (.204).
Under her direction, Rachel D'Epagnier ’14, Breanna Wong ’16 and Natasha Rowland '15 were named to the All-Ivy team, the most selections for the Big red volleyball program since the 2008 season. D'Epagnier and Wong were both second-team selections, while Rowland earned honorable mention.
Additionally, a pair of freshmen - setter Allysa Phelps and Macy Wilson - finished the year ranked second overall in the conference in assists (9.23) and blocks (1.05) per set, respectively.
In her first campaign with the Big Red, Batie-Smoose led the squad to a record of 9-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy League. Both win totals were the highest since 2008. Cornell finished 2012 strong, earning victories in three of its final four games, which included snapping an 11-match losing streak to Princeton.
The team finished sixth overall in the Ivy League standings, its best finish since also finishing in sixth place during the 2009 season, and as a team, Cornell led the league in service aces (151) and ranked in the top half of the conference in opponent hitting percentage and blocks.
Under her tutelage, Rachel D'Epagnier ’14 and Breanna Wong ’16 were named All-Ivy following the season with D’Epagnier garnering second-team honors, while Wong earned an honorable mention selection. D’Epagnier ranked second in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.361) and was third overall in blocks (1.14 per game). Wong became the first Cornell rookie to earn an Ivy League post-season honor since defensive specialist Megan Mushovic was a second-team selection in 2006.
Batie-Smoose was the most successful head coach in the history of Savannah College of Art & Design, guiding the team to an 81-43 overall record (.653). The 2009 Sun Conference Coach of the Year led her squad to a conference tournament title and an appearance in the NAIA national tournament. That team ranked as high as 20th nationally. She previously served as head coach at Nova Southeastern University (2005), helping recruit a core of players that would advance to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Division Division II tournament.
In addition to serving as a head coach at the NAIA and Division II levels, Batie-Smoose has also served as an assistant coach in the ACC, SEC, Conference USA and Missouri Valley Conferences. She spent two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State (2006-08) and two years as an assistant at Wake Forest (2003-04), a year at Creighton (1998) and four seasons at Charlotte (1992, 1994-96). Batie-Smoose also spent a year as a volunteer assistant at Florida (2000). After her first season at Charlotte, Batie-Smoose spent one year as an assistant volleyball and softball coach at Allegheny College (1993) before returning to assist the 49ers.
Batie-Smoose has also had great success at the junior level. She spent two seasons as the head coach of the Gainesville Juniors 16/1 Club Team. Ranked eighth nationally, they finished in the top 10 at nationals. One of her Gainesville pupils, Marcie Hampton, was named to the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team. Batie-Smoose also coached Team Florida, part of the USA High Performance Program, and took them to the Volley Classic in Utah.
Batie-Smoose earned a degree in sports administration from Southern Mississippi in 1991. She was a two-year starter for the Golden Eagles after transferring to Southern Miss from Texas Tech, where she played her first two years. A two-time team MVP for Southern Miss, Batie-Smoose still ranks in the top 10 on the school's career list for solo blocks and total blocks and is on the single season charts for blocking assists.
*Updated Jan. 16, 2014
