The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Ingram Tabs Kyra Iannone as New Beach Volleyball Head Coach
6/10/2017 10:07:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
Iannone joins UAB from University of Arizona and Team Canada
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A pioneering figure for beach volleyball in Canada, UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram has announced the hire of new beach volleyball head coach Kyra Iannone.
Iannone joins the Blazers after spending one year as the assistant coach at the University of Arizona, but made her mark on the international scene by creating Canada's first high performance beach volleyball club which has culminated into international success and recognition.
"To have an opportunity to create a culture of excellence, professionalism and performance is something I have dreamed about my entire career," Iannone said. "I hope to make the community and fans at UAB proud of this sport and this team while being able to plant the seeds of a legacy. I am more than excited to work with the UAB staff because they are progressive and innovative with their profession and are ready to raise this program up."
A native of White Rock, British Columbia, Iannone started Sideout Beach Volleyball Club in 2004 and has seen it rise to levels of unprecedented international accomplishments.
At last year's FIVB World Championships in Switzerland, Iannone led Nicole and Megan McNamara to a Bronze Medal. The McNamara's carried that success over to their sophomore seasons at UCLA by earning All-America honors with a 28-7 record on court one. Iannone will once again coach that duo at the 2017 FIVB World Championships this summer in China.
Her Sideout Club's rise to prominence included coaching both male and female athletes to multiple national Canadian titles, as well as constructing a footprint on the international beach volleyball scene which includes winning the FIVB World Championships on both the men's and women's side once apiece.
Most recently, Iannone spent the 2016-17 season at the University of Arizona as the assistant coach. The Wildcats finished with a 17-10 overall record and placed fourth in the highly competitive PAC-12.
Iannone helped UA's top duo of Madison and McKenna Witt play to a 21-8 record and reach the semifinals of the pairs bracket at the PAC-12 Tournament. As a team, Arizona spent the majority of the season ranked in the AVCA national poll.
"Kyra has a tremendous track record coaching world-class beach volleyball athletes at the international and intercollegiate level," Ingram said. "She is the face of beach volleyball in Canada and made an immediate impact on the collegiate level last year at Arizona. Kyra is a rising star in the NCAA beach volleyball ranks and she is going to help UAB beach volleyball reach unprecedented heights."
Before moving to Arizona, Iannone was a special education and physical education teacher at the Surrey School District and head coach of the Douglas College women's indoor team, along with her duties at Sideout Beach Volleyball Club.
For more information on Iannone and the UAB beach volleyball team, follow @UAB_BVB on Twitter and Instagram, and like UAB Beach Volleyball on Facebook.
