Andrea Hudson begins her 30th season as the head volleyball coach for Lee University. She is the longest tenured coach in the Lee Athletic Department and is only one of three volleyball coaches to serve in that role. She replaced Teresa Huskey who served for two seasons after replacing Mark Wickam who started the program in 1989. Hudson began her long reign in 1991.
Success is certainly the name of the game when talking about the Lady Flames coach. The record speaks for itself, 839 wins against just 343 defeats over the past 29 seasons. In 16 of those 27 years, the volleyball team claimed 30 or more wins, including an outstanding 39-1 mark in 2010. The 839 victories place Hudson among many of the greats in the sport of women’s volleyball.
Under Coach Hudson, the Lady Flames made the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference (GSC) in 2013. The young club finished with a 22-11 overall record and an impressive 12-6 mark and third place finish in the GSC standings.
 Powerful Lee volleyball outside hitter Silvia Sartori, who completed her outstanding career in 2018, was named to the Gulf South Conference All-Decade First Team
Sartori became the program's first NCAA All-American in 2018 and was also named the 2018 GSC Player of the Year. She was twice named to the All-South Region (2017, 2018) and was All-GSC (2015-2018) all four years of her outstanding career. She started things off with a bang taking home GSC Freshman of the Year in 2015.
"This was great news not only for Silvia but the Lee volleyball program. While a player she was one of the hardest workers in and out of the gym. She absolutely was the epitome of what coaches dream of in a player," said coach Hudson
Looking Back at Volleyball History
Lee made its first trip to the NAIA National semifinals in 2009 under the direction of Hudson and repeated the accomplishment again in 2010 and 2011. The Lady Flames earned another program-first in 2010, reaching the No.1 ranking in the NAIA. During the successful 2010 campaign, Hudson was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year, her fifth conference award to go with three Region Coach of the Year honors.
On September, 29, 2017, Hudson reached the 800-wins plateau with a 3-2 (18-25, 14-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-8) come-from-behind victory against West Alabama on the sport court in Walker Arena.Â
Just five years earlier (August 25, 2012), Hudson directed the Lady Flames to her 700th college coaching victory with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-12) win over Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.).
Sharing the Credit
In expressing her feelings about 700 wins the coach said, “It’s me, Kevin (her husband and assistant coach), and the staff members on the bench, but it is the girls that are winning the matches on the floor. This was a win for the entire school. It just shows how far our program has come and the support for volleyball has improved over the last 20-plus years. These wins would not have been possible without our players and Kevin.
Coach Hudson’s teams have captured 20 conference championships (three TVAC, seven TranSouth, eight SSAC, and two SSAC East Division titles), six NAIA Regional crowns, and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament 11 times overall including five consecutive trips from 2008-2012.
Under Hudson’s coaching, Lee has had 29 players named NAIA All-Americans. Academics have also been stressed by the coach and the players have delivered. At the end of each season the Lady Flames rank near the top when academic honors are presented.
Hudson’s Season-by-Season Record
Year               School               Record              Â
1991         Lee University    19-18     Â
1992         Lee University  37-19
1993              Lee University  33-13
1994              Lee University  32-13
1995              Lee University    39-12
1996              Lee University  48-11
1997              Lee University  31-15
1998              Lee University  40-10   Region Champions
1999              Lee University  22-15
2000              Lee University  24-15   Â
2001              Lee University  33-5      Conference Coach of the Year
2002              Lee University  33-9      Conference Coach of the Year/Region Coach of the Year/Region Champions
2003              Lee University  41-8      Conference Coach of the Year/Region Coach of the Year/Region Champions
2004              Lee University  44-3      Conference Coach of the Year/Region Coach of the Year/Region Champions
2005              Lee University  27-14     Region Champions          Â
2006              Lee University  32-9      Region Champions
2007              Lee University  23-18         Â
2008              Lee University  29-10
2009              Lee University  38-6      NAIA Fab Four
2010              Lee University  39-1      Conference Coach of the Year/NAIA Fab Four
2011              Lee University  34-3      NAIA Fab Four
2012              Lee University  30-11     NAIA First Round
2013              Lee University  22-11         Â
2014              Lee University  13-17
2015              Lee University  13-17
2016              Lee University  15-15
2017              Lee University  20-10
2018         Lee University   18-14
2019              Lee University  10-21
2020              Lee University  4-5
        Â
Total                      843-348
At Lee                     843-348
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