Kathy Bullock completed her sixth season as head coach of the Norfolk State volleyball program in 2024, her 31st overall season as a head coach at the collegiate level. She arrived at NSU prior to the 2019 season with more than 20 years of head coaching experience at a pair of Division I HBCUs.
Bullock continues her incredible reign as the Spartans’ head coach after leading the Spartans to their first double-digit win season since 2012, behind a 13-15 overall record in 2024, just one win shy of tying the most wins in Norfolk State’s Division I history.
Bullock became the first Norfolk State head coach to garner seven or more MEAC wins in three consecutive seasons with a 7-7 MEAC record. Bullock needs just five MEAC wins to eclipse the most MEAC victories by any Norfolk State volleyball coach in school history.
Bullock secured her 400th career victory as well as her 100th career MEAC win in 2024. Her 400th career victory came in a sweep over Sacred Heart in the CSU Tournament on Sept. 20, with her 100th MEAC victory garnered in a win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 1.
The Spartans racked up 13 wins in the 2024 season, including eight sweep victories – the team’s most since 2010. Those straight set wins included non-conference foes: Gardner-Webb, Lamar, Hampton, Sacred Heart, Charleston Southern and conference opponents Maryland Eastern Shore and South Carolina State.
Bullock’s historic season continued with the selection of junior Lily Rose-Pichon as Norfolk State’s first ever MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and sophomore Gabrielle Gilbert becoming Norfolk State’s first two-time All-MEAC First Team selection.
Rose-Pichon became only the fifth Spartan to record 400 or more digs in a season (412) and fourth to post 4.00 or higher digs per set in a season (4.08), the third best average in school history.
Gilbert, joined by All-MEAC Second Team recognition Sydney McCree, marked the sixth All-MEAC honoree of Bullock’s tenure at NSU – the most by any Spartan volleyball head coach.
Gilbert became NSU’s first ever VaSID Player of the Year award winner, making Norfolk State only the second HBCU to feature an athlete as the VaSID Volleyball University Division Player of the Year.
Gilbert garnered First Team All-State honors, with Sydney McCree joining her with Second Team All-State laurels.
Bullock’s most impressive win of the season came in an upset win of Delaware State on Nov. 3. Led by freshman Reagan Chisholm’s 10 block assists, the Spartans posted the fourth most block assists in Norfolk State’s single match history (32) to defeat the Hornets.
Bullock’s Spartans hit above .200 in consecutive seasons after obtaining a .211 (1,195-502-3,291) hitting percentage in 2024. Bullock is the only Norfolk State coach in Division I history to lead the team to an above .200 hitting percentage or better.
Bullock’s 2023 Spartans made history at multiple moments throughout the season, including the program’s first ever 4-0 MEAC start. Norfolk State finished 9-14 overall, going 7-7 in MEAC play, marking the first time since 2012 and 2013 that NSU tallied at least seven conference wins in back-to-back seasons.
Freshman Gilbert became the first NSU volleyball player to land on the All-MEAC First Team, as well as the program's first MEAC Rookie of the Year recipient. Gilbert and Grace Smith landed on the MEAC All-Rookie Team, the first time NSU had two players selected to the squad.
In 2022, the Spartans recorded the best MEAC season since 2013 going 7-7 in conference play. NSU placed three student-athletes on the All-MEAC teams, marking the first time in program history that three Norfolk State volleyball players have earned MEAC postseason accolades in a single season. Coach Bullock helped Carla Hernandez and Shonte Seale garner All-MEAC Second-Team honors, while McCree earned an All-Rookie Team nod. NSU collected impressive road victories to begin conference play with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Maryland Eastern Shore and a three-set sweep against Delaware State, snapping the Hornets' 19-match home winning streak.
Bullock’s Spartans made a great leap in 2021, earning eight victories, the program’s most since 2013. NSU’s non-conference resume included sweeping American 3-0, defeating Temple 3-1, and taking down in-state foe Radford 3-2. The team earned wins over Coppin State, Morgan State, and South Carolina State (twice) during MEAC play.
Since her arrival at Norfolk State, Bullock has recruited and developed many talented athletes. In 2021, libero Nicole Rodriguez became the first Spartan to earn All-MEAC honors since 2016, and the first VaSID All-State First Team selection since 2012.
The Spartans’ 2020 season was shifted to the spring of 2021 but was cut short due to COVID-19 protocols after just six matches. NSU did secure an upset of George Mason at the start of the spring season, and Paola Matos was later named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.
Before coming to NSU, Bullock spent the 2018 campaign at Winston-Salem State and the 2017 season at Greensboro College. She also led turnarounds as the head coach at Tennessee State for 13 seasons from 2004-16 and at her alma mater North Carolina A&T from 1994-2003.
WSSU went 16-15 overall and 14-4 in the CIAA during her one season there, advancing to the semifinals of the CIAA Championship. She coached a pair of All-CIAA performers. Bullock led Greensboro College to a 14-14 record during her one season there in 2017, coaching one USA South Athletic Conference All-East Division honoree.
Bullock is the all-time winningest coach at Tennessee State with 177 victories. She led the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007. TSU captured its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2007 after also leading the Tigers to the OVC regular season championship in 2005. She was named the OVC Coach of the Year in ‘05 after setting program records for most overall (22-11) and league wins (14-2).
Tennessee State finished with three 20-win seasons and seven overall winning seasons – the only seven in program history – during her time with the Tigers. Her second season with the program, when the Tigers went 22-11, marked a 17-win improvement from her first season. That stood as the largest turnaround in NCAA Division I that season. She also won 20 games in 2006 and ’07.
In addition to capturing the league title in 2007, she also led TSU to the semifinals of the OVC tournament five other times. Bullock coached 19 All-OVC selections, seven All-Newcomer honorees, and the first OVC Player of the Year (Shaquita Williams in 2011) and OVC Defensive Player of the Year (Madison Halterman in 2016) in program history. She went 177-222 during her time at Tennessee State.
Her overall record in 30 seasons stands at 409-519, including 162 wins in 10 seasons at North Carolina A&T.
Prior to leading the Tigers, she spent 10 seasons as the head coach at N.C. A&T from 1994-2003, compiling a 162-175 record. She coached seven first-team All-MEAC performers and the 1998 Player of the Year, Vania Blake. She led the Aggies to five winning seasons, including a school-record 24 wins in 2001 and 20 wins in 2002.
A&T captured MEAC Southern Division titles in 1995 (8-1) and 1998 (8-0), the only ones in program history, and the ’98 squad also advanced to the MEAC Championship match for the third time ever. Blake was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer despite the Aggies falling to Morgan State in the championship game.
The Aggies finished second in the division in her eight other seasons to MEAC perennial power Florida A&M. Prior to her arrival, A&T had never finished better than third.
As a player at North Carolina A&T, she was a four-time All-MEAC first-team selection, the first player in conference history to accomplish the feat. Bullock was also an All-American in track in the 800 meters during the 1984-85 season. She is a member of the Durham Striders Track Club Hall of Fame.
Bullock’s sister, Kim Graham-Miller, earned a gold medal in the 4x400 relay for Team USA at the 1996 Olympic Games and is the current head track & field coach at UC San Diego. Her brother, Jay Graham, played in the NFL for five years and has served as an assistant coach at the Power 5 level in both the SEC and ACC.
A native of Durham, North Carolina, Bullock is a 1987 graduate of North Carolina A&T where she earned a bachelor's degree in communications. She and her husband Darryl have one daughter, Kayla, and one stepson, Luther.
