Texas Tech University Athletics
Graystone Completes Texas Tech Volleyball Staff
March 01, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
Head coach Tony Graystone completes his volleyball staff with Morgan Thomas, Brandy Huskey and Alyce Peters
March 1, 2016
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech head volleyball coach Tony Graystone announced Tuesday the completion of his coaching staff.
Graystone Completes Texas Tech Volleyball Staff - https://t.co/ZIn6AGoJDh #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/0TrZMsJlVw
- TexasTech Volleyball (@TTUVball) March 1, 2016
"I'm happy to announce the completion of the volleyball staff and to have Morgan, Brandy and Alyce on board with Red Raider Volleyball," Graystone said. "Each of them are very good at what they do and I'm looking forward to working with them and seeing the impact they have on the program."
Thomas comes to Texas Tech after spending two years as an assistant coach for Graystone at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She began working with the Islanders in May of 2014 and was promoted to first assistant coach in January 2015. Thomas arrived to the Island University after spending two years as the graduate assistant for the University of South Carolina.
"I first want to thank the Texas Tech administration and Tony Graystone for inviting me to join the Red Raider family," Thomas said. "I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to continue to work for someone of high character and passion for our sport. I believe in Tony's philosophy in how he develops our players to be successful both on and off the court, and I am confident that he will continue to be a fearless leader here at Texas Tech. I am eager to help take this program to the next level and appreciate the opportunity to coach alongside someone I trust and admire."
In 2015, the Islanders recorded their best season in school history, going 31-5 overall with a spotless 16-0 in conference play. After winning regular season and Southland Conference Tournament Championships, Thomas and the Islanders secured the program's first NCAA Tournament berth. The Islanders finished their 2015 season with four first team All-Southland Conference performers and two Southland Conference Players of the Year.
Working primarily with the right side hitters and middle blockers, Thomas improved first team All-Southland Conference performer Brittany Gilpin's hitting percentage to a clip of .340, registering 265 kills in 111 sets played. Her percentage ranked second in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi single-season records. Her 96 blocks also put her at No. 6 in the school record books, improving her two-year total to 179. Madeleine Doud followed closely behind Gilpin's numbers, putting up 185 kills and an attack percentage of .302, while also tallying 93 blocks.
"Morgan has been with me for the past two seasons and she has proven to be a tremendous technical coach as well as an outstanding recruiter," Graystone said. "I'm thrilled that Morgan has come to Lubbock with me and am grateful to have someone with her work ethic, character and personality on my staff."
During the 2014 season, Thomas helped blossom then-freshmen Gilpin and Doud. She also helped with the transition of junior Kelsee Felux from outside hitter to middle blocker. Gilpin had an impressive freshman year with a team-high .268 hitting percentage and led the team with 83 blocks. Felux collected 69 blocks, which was third on the team behind Gilpin and Honorable Mention All-America Brianna Brink.
Thomas, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a four-year starter for the University of South Carolina-Upstate and a standout middle blocker. She set numerous school records, including career kills at 1,049 and career blocks with 315. The former team captain also was the first All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection in program history in 2011. Off the court, Thomas served as a marketing intern in the athletics department, while being highly involved on the Executive Board on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Additionally, she helped incoming students transition into college as a University 101 Peer Leader.
Brandy Huskey comes to Lubbock after serving as an assistant coach for Houston Baptist University (HBU) in 2015. While at HBU, she worked with the setters and defensive specialists, helping the Huskies starting setter Kayla Armer to 1,217 assists. Her total was the 10th-most in a single-season in HBU history. On the defensive side, the Huskies recorded 1,788 digs in 2015, with five players posting at 280 digs or more.
"I really look forward to working with Tony, Morgan and Alyce," Huskey said. "I have heard and seen such great things from all three staff members and I am extremely excited to help turn a program around that I used to be a part of. I want to make sure that all of the players leave Texas Tech with a positive volleyball and student experience. I am so happy to be back in Lubbock and at Texas Tech." Before HBU, Huskey spent a year as a volunteer assistant coach at Houston. Huskey assisted with team travel, special events, equipment and all positions of training during the 2014 season.
As a student-athlete, Huskey was a four-year letterwinner at Texas Tech (2010-11) and Texas-San Antonio (2012-13). Huskey was utilized as a backup setter and defensive specialist during her two seasons with the Red Raiders. In her sophomore season at Tech, she appeared in 22 matches, making six starts. She totaled 126 digs in 2011, with 104 coming during Big 12 play. She also added 57 assists, tallying a season-high 23 against Grambling State.
"I've long been a fan of Brandy's and am so happy to finally be able to add her to my staff," Graystone said. "It was a priority to bring in a coach to work primarily with our setters, and Brandy is a perfect fit for us. As a former Red Raider, Brandy has a lot of pride for this program and is fully committed to our mission."
Huskey is a native of Columbus, Texas, and comes from a family of athletes. Her older sister, Elise, played volleyball at UTSA (2008-11). Her little sister graduates from Columbus High School in 2016 and will compete for the University of Florida as a setter. Her father, Keith, was a student-athlete at the University of St. Thomas, and mother, Rhonda, was a student-athlete at Texas Woman's University.
Alyce Peters returns to Texas Tech volleyball as the director of operations, after serving in the same role in 2015. Peters was promoted from her position of volunteer assistant coach on Aug. 7, 2015. Peters came to Tech in 2014, coming over midseason after a stint in Europe, playing professionally. This will be her 10th year at the collegiate and club level.
"I am excited to work with a staff that has a similar mid-set as me," Peters said. "I am glad to be back and to be a contributing part of the big things to come for Texas Tech volleyball."
Peters attended Nicholls State, where she was a dual scholarship athlete for volleyball and track (hurdles), before transferring and graduating from Texas State in 2009. Peters went on to become a graduate assistant at Angelo State, in 2012, and earned her Master's degree in Student Development and Leadership for Higher Education, in 2013. During that time, Angelo State rose to a top-10 national ranking in Division II, won its conference, placed second at Regionals and had three players earn All-American honors. From there, Peters was hired as first assistant coach at Arizona Western College. During her time there, the Matadors climbed to as high as No. 11 in the Division-I Junior College polls, won their conference, district and region. The Matadors also appeared in the NJCAA volleyball tournament.
"It was very important to keep Alyce with Red Raider Volleyball, and I'm excited to have her with us," Graystone said. "She is a tremendous ambassador for the program and is a great director of operations."
