Shelton Collier begins his eighth season as the head coach of the Wingate volleyball program. Last season, Collier led the Wingate University volleyball team to a 31-2 overall record, including a perfect 16-0 league mark for the second consecutive season. Collier led the Bulldogs to their third consecutive regular season title, while also leading the team to their third straight Food Lion SAC Tournament Championship. The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last 6 seasons. Wingate was ranked number one in the Southeast Region all season and for the first time ever, hosted the NCAA Regional Championships. Collier was voted NCAA South Region Coach of the Year, and was named SAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Collier ranks ninth amongst active coaches with 767 career wins while ranking 18th among active coaches in career winning percentage. He has a 143-48 record with the Bulldogs. This past summer, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team A2 team that trained and competed at the National High Performance Championships in Ft Lauderdale, Fl. In the summer of 2008, Collier held the same position as the Youth A2 team competed in Tucson Arizona.
In 2007 Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National team that participated in the World Championships in Mexicali, Mexico. In 2006 he directed the USAYouth National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA Championships. Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior National Team in 2005 at the Junior World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Under Collier’s guidance, in 2004, this Junior Team won the gold medal at the 2004 NORCECA Tournament.
During the summer of 2003, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team. He led the team to a fourth-place finish at the World Championships in Poland, the highest finish ever for a USA Youth team. The USA’s journey to the final four included a stunning upset of number one-ranked Russia. In the summer of 2002, Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior and Youth A2 National Teams that trained in Colorado Springs.
Collier arrived at Wingate in March of 2002, following 11 highly successful seasons at Georgia Tech. He left Georgia Tech as the most successful coach in the program's history with a 565-207 overall record and a .732 winning percentage. He was ranked in the top 15 of NCAA Division I coaches in total wins and winning percentage.
Collier inherited a Georgia Tech program (in 1991) that was 8-30 overall. He immediately transformed the program and directed them to a record of 27-9 overall. In only five years, he took Georgia Tech (ranked 248th nationally) to a number 16 ranking in the national poll. During his tenure at Tech, Collier was named ACC Coach of the Year, Tachikara Southeast Region Coach of the Year and Georgia Collegiate Coach of the Year.
Along with an impressive winning percentage, Collier's teams performed admirably in the classroom. Under Collier's supervision, his teams consistently achieved a team grade point average above 3.00. He maintained a 100 percent graduation rate for his players.
Before coaching at Georgia Tech, Collier was an assistant to the USA Women's National Team from 1988-90. He also was the head scout and consultant to the USA Women's National Team at the 1988 Olympics. In 1990, Collier was the head coach for the first USA Women's Youth National Team Program that trained in Colorado Springs.
From 1980-88, Collier was the head volleyball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, compiling a 296-93 record, (a .761 winning percentage), during his nine-season career. In 1987, he was elected Big East Coach of the Year and Northeast Regional Coach of the Year. Collier served as an assistant at Ohio State (1979), Cincinnati (1978), and Pacific (1977) before taking the position at the University of Pittsburgh.
Collier obtained a bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 1977 from the Ohio State University. He was also an All-American volleyball player at Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to three consecutive NCAA final four appearances. After graduation, Collier obtained a master's degree in Education and Counseling from Cincinnati in 1978.
Collier lives in Charlotte with his wife, DiAnn Gorham Collier. She is a captain in the Charlotte Fire Department.
Melissa DeLuca joins the Wingate University coaching staff after a record-setting four-year Bulldog career. The setter led Wingate to 97 victories, three NCAA Division II tournament appearances, two Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament titles and two SAC regular season championships. DeLuca is Wingate’s all-time leader in assists with 4,869 helpers. She averaged a school-record 10.99 assists per game in her four-year career while finishing third on the school’s list with 182 career aces.
“Melissa will add so much to our program in her new role as an assistant coach.” Says head coach Shelton Collier. “With so many exceptional personal qualities, she will be an ideal role model in addition to being an excellent coach. She knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete here, and is well aware of what is required to win championships here, so she will be a very positive influence in many aspects of our program.”
A three-time all-SAC performer, DeLuca was also a two-time Food Lion SAC tournament MVP. She was an all-region performer her senior year. In addition, DeLuca was named to the 2007 AVCA honorable mention All-America team. She was the first Bulldog volleyball student-athlete to earn AVCA honorable mention All-America honors.
DeLuca was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® volleyball first team (college division) as a senior. The College Sports Information Directors of America announce the teams each November. An Elementary Education major, DeLuca also received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.
In her senior season, DeLuca was 13th in the nation with 12.90 assists per game. Thanks to the efforts of DeLuca and her teammates, the Bulldogs compiled a 33-2 overall record in 2007. Wingate’s winning percentage was number one in the NCAA Division II. Wingate went 26-2 in SAC play in DeLuca’s final two seasons. The Bulldogs did not drop a game during the Food Lion SAC tournament in 2006 and 2007.
DeLuca graduated from Wingate in 2008. She is currently enrolled in the Wingate MAED program.
