Nike Volleyball Camp at Johnson & Wales University

Michael Houlihan assumed the reigns of the JWU (Providence) volleyball program in August of 2022. During that span, he has guided the Wildcats to a 56-37 record (.613 winning pct.) and a pair of trips to the conference finals, winning the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in 2022.

Houlihan – who also handles all department finances at JWU – has seen a total of eight student-athletes receive all-conference honors during his tenure in Providence. Two of those selections – Peyton Oliver and Emily Corbett – went on to receive American Volleyball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region 1 honors with Oliver snaring All-America Honorable Mention accolades in 2024. Corbett, meanwhile, was named GNAC Libero of the Year in 2022 while Nevaeh Arnold grabbed GNAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2024.

Houlihan arrived in Providence following 13 seasons at UMass Boston, the last eight as head coach. In 12 seasons on the UMB coaching staff, the Beacons compiled a record of 251-132 (.655 winning pct.) – including a 76-11 mark in Little East Conference (LEC) play – along with 10 LEC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, and three trips to the NCAA Elite 8 (2010, 2012, 2013). In his final season at UMB, Houlihan guided the Beacons to a 14-13 mark (5-3 LEC) and identical 3-2 wins over Keene State and Eastern Connecticut State in the LEC playoffs to capture their conference-record 10th championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Overall, Houlihan coached a total of 47 all-conference student-athletes at UMass Boston, including eight who were named LEC Offensive Player of the Year, five LEC Rookie of the Year winners, and four who received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Twenty went on to garner all-region accolades while 14 garnered All-America honors. Houlihan owns a career record of 307-169 (.645 winning pct.).

Houlihan – who was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) ‘Thirty Under 30’ list in 2013 – has been employed by the New England Region Volleyball Association since 2017, first as a head coach (2017-18) and currently as the co-Director. He helps train and prepare the most elite athletes in the New England region for the international tournament hosted by USA Volleyball High Performance.

The Shoreham, New York native cut his teeth in the collegiate coaching ranks at Newbury College, where he worked as an assistant coach during the 2010 campaign. Houlihan has worked numerous camps throughout his career, including stops at the University of Delaware and the University of New Hampshire, and speaks annually at the New England Region Volleyball Association workshop.

A 2009 graduate of Nazareth College with a B.S. in Business Administration, Houlihan was a four-year member of the men’s volleyball program who went on to earn his Masters of Business Administration from UMass Boston in 2012.

Mark Thomas enters his third season. He was named the volleyball head coach on Aug. 11, 2020.

He led the Bears to a win in the only match of the 2020 season and record of 17-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play last season.

Thomas is no stranger to the Academy, having served as an assistant women's volleyball coach during the 2013 season. He came back to the Academy from AIC where he was an assistant coach. The Coast Guard team he was an assistant coach for in 2013 finished 22-9 overall and 5-5 in the NEWMAC and advanced to the NEWMAC tournament semifinals.

He spent three seasons as the top assistant coach at George Mason University (2017-2019) and prior to George Mason, he began the volleyball program at New England College in July 2016.

Thomas earned his undergraduate degree from Newbury College where he was a member of the men's volleyball program. During his career he was named the NECC Player of the Year (2010), earned two NECC first team honors, two North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England first team honors, and All-NECVA second team honors.

He is the program's record holder in both career kills (1,778) and single-season kills (527).

Thomas' first head coaching position was at Newbury College, his alma mater, where he led both the men's and women's program. In his two seasons with the Nighthawks, he led the women's team to their first conference championship appearance since 2011. On the men's side, he led the team to their first conference semifinal appearance since 2011 and was named 2015 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year.

Thomas has also coached at the University of California Riverside, Springfield College and Prime Volleyball Club. He was a member of the Zenith Volleyball Club in Trinidad and Tobago during the 2012-2013 year.

He earned his Master's in Education in Athletic Counseling from Springfield College.

Additionally, Thomas has worked skills and/or team camps for the University of North Carolina, the University of New Hampshire, Connecticut College, Dearing Volleyball School, Prime Volleyball Camp and Gold Medal Squared Volleyball.

In June 2008, Thomas was selected as a member of the USA Athletes International team that competed at the Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament in Perth, Scotland.

Noordzy enters his third season at Salve Regina and second of full competition after the 2020-21 season was limited due to COVID-19. Noordzy was hired in February 2020 and became the sixth head coach in program history.

• Noordzy went 15-10 in his first season of competition and directed the Seahawks to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) semifinals.
• Noordzy has coached five (5) CCC All-Conference players.
• Noordzy has coached nine (9) Academic All-Conference honorees.
• Prior to Salve Regina
  • An assistant coach at Johnson & Wales helping the Wildcats to their fifth straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship.
    • The Wildcats went on to reach the NCAA Regional final for a third straight year before falling to Bowdoin College.
  • Assistant coach for South Kingstown High School girl's volleyball.
  • Assistant to the University of Rhode Island men's club team, helping URI win the NCVF D1AAA Club National Championship in 2019.
  • Noordzy was a four-year starter at the University of Rhode Island, where he served as a two-year captain and graduated in 2015 with a degree in history.

Noordzy resides in North Kingstown.

Danielle Davis returns for her seventh season as Head Coach of the RWU Women’s Volleyball team.

Davis led the Hawks to the 2017 CCC Championship Match and was named 2017 CCC Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a perfect 8-0 Commonwealth Coast Conference regular season record. She coached five players to All-CCC recognition, including CCC Libero of the Year Meghan Chartier. She also two All-New England players in Lara LoIacono and Molly Quilty, while Quilty was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and finished the year as the NCAA Division III Statistical Champion in blocks per set.

In 2016, Davis and the Women’s Volleyball team had another strong season, finishing the regular season 19-8 overall and 8-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, earning the #2 seed for the conference tournament. The Hawks finished the season ranked 12th in the New England Region. Four athletes earned spots on the All-CCC team, in addition to Kristen Boyer being named CCC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.

In her first season at RWU, Davis led RWU to a 19-12 overall record en route to winning the program’s 7th straight Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship and 7th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Five of Davis’ student-athletes earned spots on the All-CCC team including freshman Molly Quilty, who was honored as CCC Rookie of the Year. In addition, two student-athletes received All-New England honors for RWU and six were selected to the Fall CCC All-Academic Team.

Davis came to Roger Williams University after spending the 2014 season as the Head Coach at Simmons College in Boston. She guided the Sharks to a 9-2 mark in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference in just her first season and captured the number three seed in the league tournament for the program's highest-seeded appearance since 1999.

Under her tutelage, two of her players were named to the All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference team, with one being named GNAC Rookie of the Year.

Davis was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as a recipient of the Thirty Under 30 Award. The honor is bestowed upon thirty of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game. In 2013, she was also honored by the AVCA after receiving the Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship Award.

Prior to her arrival at Simmons, Davis enjoyed two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Springfield College. Over her two season with the Pride, she helped guide Springfield to a 53-14 record that included a pair of appearances in the NCAA Regional Tournament semifinals as well as a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship in 2013.

Davis was instrumental in directing an offensive unit that led the nation in 2013 with a .297 hitting percentage. She also gained valuable head coaching experience by serving as the Pride’s Junior Varsity mentor.

Davis also has experience coaching at the club and camp level, with coaching stints at the Premier Volleyball Academy and at Club O.N.E. in Ohio as well as stops at the Youngstown State University Youth Camp, the Dearing Volleyball School and the University of Connecticut Volleyball camp.

A Howell, Michigan native, Davis was a four-year letterwinner at Division I Youngstown State, where she was a team captain and starred for the Penguins during her junior campaign. The setter was the only player on the squad to see action in all 97 sets and started every match, while leading the Penguins with a .240 attack mark to go with 7.23 assists per set. She also served as the team’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Davis graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from Youngstown State and later earned a Master of Science degree in Physical Science from Springfield College.