Vanessa Faircloth

Vanessa Faircloth is the Women's Head Volleyball Coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Vanessa Faircloth has served as the head volleyball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore since June of 2023.

Faircloth comes to UMES after spending the last two seasons as the head coach at Chowan University.

Inheriting a program that recorded six wins over a span of two seasons, Faircloth coached Chowan to eight wins in her first season with five coming in Conference Carolinas play while developing an improved defensive unit. Libero Natalia Vega-Aponte broke the school's single-season digs record with 654 digs, leading to a Conference Carolinas Second Team selection. As a team, Chowan finished the 2021 season with the second most digs in program history (2078), while notching the most digs per set (19.79) in program history.

In 2022, Faircloth continued to improve on Chowan's win total with 10 victories overall and six wins in the conference. Chowan swept Barton for the first time in program history in their three meetings which included a win in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Championship marking the first time Chowan advanced in the tournament. Faircloth recruited and coached Diana Rodriguez, who went on to earn Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year honors and Second Team All-Conference. Rodriguez led the conference in digs (634) and digs per set (6.47).

Prior to coaching at Chowan, Faircloth coached at Elizabeth City State University. During the 2018 season, Faircloth led the Vikings to their first CIAA Volleyball tournament berth since 2014. In 2019, the Vikings posted nine wins, including six conference wins to finish third in the Northern Division while earning another birth in the conference tournament.

During her time with the Vikings, Faircloth improved win totals each season while increasing team production in nearly every statistical category. Faircloth took the Vikings from the bottom third of the CIAA in kills, assists, digs, blocks, and service aces to the middle or top third of the league in each category with the most dramatic improvement of a No. 11 ranking in blocks (1.03 per game) to No. 2 (1.76 per game).

Prior to Faircloth's collegiate coaching experience, she spent four years as the recruiting coordinator and coach of the Southeast Regional Volleyball club in Chesapeake, Virginia serving as the coach for the 18u girls and 18u boys teams for the SERV program. Faircloth also spent time as the Regional Youth Development Director for Eastern Sports Management in Virginia Beach.

Faircloth spent two seasons as the varsity boys volleyball coach at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, taking the program to the state semifinals in 2017 while earning 6A Region Coach of the Year honors. Faircloth also coached the Crestwood Middle School girls program, where she was named the school's Coach of the Year during the 2016 season.

Originally from Lumberton, North Carolina, Faircloth started her collegiate playing career at Virginia Intermont College, where she ranked second in the conference in total blocks and blocks per set. Faircloth wrapped up her career at Norfolk State University where she recorded 226 kills, 27 service aces, and 77 total blocks in two seasons with the Spartans.

Faircloth graduated from NSU with her bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematical Science in 2015. She is an active member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Faircloth becomes the eighth head coach in UMES women's volleyball history.