By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball program has made an addition to its staff, naming Tierney Flaherty an assistant coach Wednesday morning.

"We are so excited to be adding Tierney to our Tech family," said head coach Jeannette Waldo. "Her passion for the sport and for building meaningful relationships was apparent early in the interview process."

"We were fortunate enough to have a great deal of interest in this position since our program is on the rise, but Tierney stood out almost immediately.  She has built a close network of people that hold her in high regard, and after learning more about her, we are certain she will help round out our staff in a very valuable way."

Flaherty joins the Golden Eagles after serving as an assistant coach at Wofford College for the 2018 season. Among other responsibilities, she handled student-athlete academic support and team camp organization, and assisted with film break down, opponent scouting, travel and meal planning.  

On the court, the Georgetown, Ind. native assisted in training all position groups, with special emphasis on middle blockers and outside hitters.

For Waldo, the most exciting part of the hire is how well Flaherty's persona fits with the upward trajectory of the program, which won 11 games last season after a 4-24 ledger in 2017.

"We were craving a fresh energy that was willing to put in the work to take us to the next level, and we believe we have found that in Tierney," Waldo said. "We have a good thing going here and we're not trying to turn everything upside down, but rather enhance the important work we've already done and continue to climb higher."

In the interest of growing the program as quickly as possible, Waldo is very happy with the timing of Flaherty's appointment as well.

"It is crucial that she is able to join us so early within our spring season so she can get in the gym and begin training with our team immediately," she said. "We have the time we need to get on the road recruiting, talk shop, build a rapport, and make strides before our regular season is upon us."

Prior to her time at Wofford, Flaherty was a student assistant coach at Appalachian State for the 2017 season. While coaching the Mountaineers, she worked on the bench for Club Synergy, an 18-and-under travel team, and Watauga High School in Boone, N.C.

Flaherty coached three seasons at Watauga, where she helped oversee a three-year record of 64-12.

Flaherty also played four years of Division I college volleyball, beginning her career at Wofford for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, before transferring to play at Appalachian State in 2016. A knee injury brought the transition from player to coach for the 2017 campaign.

She earned her degree in psychology from App State, graduating summa cum laude in December 2017.