David Fischer was named Head Coach of the program on Aug. 20, 2024, following a tenure as the Associate Head Coach with the UNCW Volleyball program.
The 2025 season will be his 10th with the program, which played its first season as a varsity program in2016. Fischer helped the Seahawks to their first appearance in the Sun Belt Conference finals where they fell to nationally-ranked Georgia State.
In two seasons as a member of the Sun Belt, UNCW has reached the semifinals twice, including their first season in 2024 as they fell in the semifinals to Coastal Carolina.
The pairing of Gracue Sistrunk and Lyvia Trimp was named Pair of the Year by the league's coaches and was also a first-team All-Conference selection. The duo posted a nation-best 30-1 mark and closed out the season with a 25-match winning streak.
UNCW landed a second pair on the All-Sun Belt teams with Gabby LaPata and Sarah Thompson also earning first-team honors. Annika Thompson, meanwhile, was the league's newcomer of the year.
In 2020, the Seahawks had a record of 4-5 before Covid 19 forced the cancellation of the season. Highlighting the season was Raquel Rooney moving into the program's all-time wins list with 37. Rooney paired with Brynn Montgomery for a win at the top position against Chattanooga for the milestone win. Rooney finished her career with the progam ranked fourth with 39 wins.
In 2018, the Seahawks finished 12-16 against a schedule heavy with top-10 opponents. The pairing of Nicole Lott and Maddy Kline was selected to compete at the Bridgestone USA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Lott and Kline went 2-2 during the tournament.
The Seahawks picked up their first win against a nationally-ranked opponent when they toppled #13 North Florida in five in the second dual of the 2017 season.
In the spring of 2016, UNCW launched its beach program and finished with a record of 10-15 while facing seven nationally ranked programs, including top-10 programs Pepperdine, Florida State, Georgia State and Stetson. The Seahawks also hosted their first beach event with a sweep of Coastal Carolina and Stevenson in late March.
The pairing of Ashleigh Cutcher and Maddy Kline posted a team-best 11-13 record while Sarah Kelly and Kline tied for the most wins with 12.
In his first season with the indoor program, the Seahawks won their first Colonial Athletic Association championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
Prior to arriving in Wilmington, Fischer served as head beach volleyball coach at Louisiana Monroe for three seasons. In the War Hawks first season, Fischer helped them to the national tournament while Zuzana Markova and Tanya Sukach earned AVCA All-America honors following a sweep of UCLA at the national tournament.
The following season, ULM again reached the national tournament as Marcela Araya joined Markova in earning AVCA All-America honors with a 27-10 mark.
In his final season with the War Hawks, Fischer helped ULM to wins over nationally-ranked opponents Tulane, North Florida and South Carolina. With 15 wins, ULM set a school-record and had Araya and Michelle McNamee reach the national tournament.
A native of Santa Barbara, Calif., Fischer worked with the UCSB program under legendary head coach Kathy Gregory. He also served as head coach at Oxnard College for three seasons in the competitive California Junior College system.
Fischer is a graduate of Stanford where he was on the Cardinal volleyball team as an outside hitter. In 1992, Stanford reached the finals of the NCAA tournament in Muncie, Indiana. Following graduation, he played professionally on the AVP tour and several satellite tours, both in the U.S. and abroad.
