When Fran Flory was hired as LSU's fifth volleyball coach leading into the 1998 season, she was charged with the duty of leading the Tigers back to national prominence. The Baton Rouge native has accomplished just that as she moves into her 15th season at the helm of the program.

LSU has been nothing short of spectacular and continues to raise its level of success under Flory. Dating back to the 2005 season, the Tigers have won seven consecutive SEC Western Division crowns and are one of only 25 programs to reach the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons. The seven straight division titles is the second-longest streak in SEC history, while the six consecutive NCAA Tournament bids from 2005-10 were a program record.

LSU has posted 22.7 wins per season and spent 50 weeks ranked inside the Bison/AVCA Top 25 poll climbing as high as No. 10 on two occasions during the seven-year run. The Tigers also have tallied eight American Volleyball Coaches Association [AVCA] All-South Region First-Team picks, including a pair of AVCA All-Americans from 2007-09 for the first time in program history.

LSU has been represented on the national stage as a part of USA Volleyball Women's A2 National Team in each of the last five seasons. Flory captured a gold medal in 2011 after leading the USA A2 Blue squad to a 7-1 record. Brittnee Cooper and Elena Martinez won gold in May 2008, Cooper added a silver medal in May 2009, former assistant coach Steve Loeswick garnered a bronze medal in May 2010 and Meghan Mannari tallied a silver medal in June 2012.

LSU put together a 19-11 campaign in 2011 where a program-record five players earned All-SEC recognition during the same season. Lauren Waclawczyk and Michele Williams joined the program's illustrious 1,000-dig and 1,000-kill clubs, respectively. The duo is the ninth and 10th players to reach those feats since 2006.

LSU raced out to a program-best 13-0 start to open the 2010 season. Angela Bensend and Desiree Elliott collected All-SEC First-Team accolades to give the Tigers multiple picks on the league's premier squad for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Elliott also notched SEC Freshman of the Year status as LSU racked up a 25-5 record.

LSU climbed to new heights in 2009 and claimed the SEC overall championship to close Florida's 18-year reign at the top of the conference. The Tigers finished with a 25-7 record highlighted by a pair of historic wins over the Gators, including their first win in UF's O'Connell Center since 1991.

LSU returned to the NCAA Tournament and rolled past Tulane during their opener before falling in a five-set affair to Texas A&M in the second round.

Following the successful season, the individual accolades began to pour in for the Purple and Gold. Flory was recognized as the AVCA South Region, SEC and Louisiana Coach of the Year. Cooper added to LSU's rich heritage with the program's first SEC Player of the Year award along with AVCA All-America First-Team honors to join the elite company of Monique Adams (1991) and Angie Miller (1992). Her .409 hitting percentage set a program single-season mark.

Under Flory's guidance, LSU has secured 37 All-SEC selections, including 14 First-Team picks. In 2009, Cooper was joined by Sam Dabbs and Marina Skender to become the first Tiger trio to notch All-SEC First-Team honors in the same season.

Martinez notched 2007 & 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year in addition to AVCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades. She finished her career second in program history reeling in 1,414 digs and her professional team, Llaneras de Toa Baja in Puerto Rico, earned a runner-up finish in 2010.

LSU has dominated with 46 All-Louisiana selections highlighted by 28 First-Team honors. The five-time Louisiana Coach of the Year also has led her players to every individual state award, including five players, four freshmen, three defensive players and two newcomers of the Year.

Flory's success at LSU, however, hasn't been solely on the court. The Tigers have registered 101 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections. The program also collected nearly 3,000 books for Dufrocq Elementary School in 2011 as part of the "Geaux Books" program created and championed by Waclawczyk.

The 2008 Tigers overcame injuries and finished the regular season with six straight wins to collect their fourth straight divisional title. Cooper emerged as one of the top middle blockers in the nation en route to All-SEC, All-Louisiana, AVCA All-South Region First-Team and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades.

LSU compiled a stellar 25-8 campaign in 2007. The Tigers broke through with an NCAA Tournament victory, a gritty five-set triumph over New Mexico State, in its third-straight year in the postseason. Lauren DeGirolamo and Kyna Washington took home All-SEC First-Team honors, while DeGirolamo teamed with Martinez for AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.

The Tigers made the 2006 season a year to remember after racking up a 26-6 mark. The 26 victories and No. 19 final national ranking were accomplished for the first time in program history since the 1992 season. LSU also won the SEC Western Division crown outright setting a program mark along the way with 16 league victories.

Flory garnered her second consecutive Louisiana Coach of the Year award. Daniela Romero tacked on AVCA All-America Honorable Mention after securing All-SEC First Team and Louisiana Player of the Year. She was joined by Skender to give the Tigers two All-SEC First-Team picks for the first time since 1999.

LSU's return to volleyball prominence began in 2005 as the Tigers finished 21-8 sharing its first SEC Western Division championship and garnered its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1992. After Hurricane Katrina turned the Maravich Center into the largest field hospital in the United States, LSU played its first 17 matches on the road traveling over 14,000 miles.

Ivana Kuzmic became LSU's first All-American since 1992 after being named All-SEC First Team and Louisiana Player of the Year. Skender added SEC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team accolades.

LSU totaled a pair of second-place finishes and five third-place showings in the SEC West over Flory's first seven seasons. She made an immediate impact on the program moving LSU within a game of the .500 mark in 1998 after the Tigers went winless in SEC action the year before.

The 1999 Tigers improved to 17-15 overall as Meagan Davis and Kelly Thompson notched All-SEC First-Team accolades. In 2000, LSU took another step forward making the SEC Tournament finals. Despite the setback, LSU broke a six-year winless draught at the SEC Tournament.

The Tigers picked up its first winning conference record under Flory during the 2001 season. LSU won nine of its 10 matches against Western Divisions squads en route to a second-place finish. Flory kept the momentum going into 2002 and strung together back-to-back SEC winning seasons for the first time since 1992-93.

LSU bounced back from an 11-19 mark in 2003 and fired back with a 17-12 record during the 2004 season. Kuzmic earned Louisiana Player of the Year as the Tigers won three matches against NCAA Tournament squads.

This is Flory's second stint at LSU as the Baton Rouge native served as an assistant for four seasons under LSU's winningest coach, Scott Luster. She served as a graduate assistant in 1988, before being named a full-time assistant prior to the 1989 season.

During her four seasons with the Tigers, Flory helped LSU to unprecedented success with three SEC championships, three SEC Tournament championships and two Final Four appearances, the first school in SEC history to advance to the NCAA Final Four.

Flory left LSU to assume the head coaching duties at Southeastern Louisiana in 1992. In her first season as a head coach, SLU turned in a 21-13 record. She returned to the SEC as an assistant coach at Kentucky in 1993. Five months later, Flory assumed the head coaching duties when Kathy DeBoer, who is currently the Executive Director of the AVCA, was named Associate Athletic Director.

The 1993 Wildcats stormed to a 29-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. For her efforts, Flory was named the Tachikara/AVCA Region IV Coach of the Year. She remained at Kentucky through the 1997 season.

Before entering coaching, Flory experienced a successful playing career at the University of Texas. She was a member of the Longhorns 1981 AIAW National Championship squad. She received All-Southwest Conference and All-South Region honors during her three seasons.

Flory graduated from Texas in 1984 after serving as a student assistant and was named head coach at Wittenberg University in 1986, where she coached for one season before moving on to Texas A&M as an assistant coach.

A member of the AVCA and chair of the NCAA Rules Committee starting in Fall 2010, Flory has assisted in coordinating both the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games and the Special Olympics; hosting the 2001 Senior Olympic Games. She also is a member of the United States Volleyball Association coaching accreditation program.

Flory and her husband, Ken, live in Baton Rouge. The couple has a daughter, Lindsay (15), and a son, Nicholas (13).

Flory's Year-by-Year Coaching Record

Overall Record: 377-270 (21 seasons)
LSU Record: 267-156 (15 seasons)

Coaching Honors
2009 SEC Coach of the Year
2009 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year
1993 AVCA/Tachikara Region IV Coach of the Year
2006 Episcopal High School Hall of Fame inductee
2001, 2005, 2006, 2009 & 2010 Louisiana Coach of the Year

Playing Experience
Texas (1980-83)

Playing Honors
1981 AIAW National Championship
1982 All-Southwest Conference Second Team
1982 NCAA Tournament All-South Region Team
1982, 1983 Team Captain

Flory's AVCA All-Americans
Year Player
2009 Brittnee Cooper
2009 Sam Dabbs
2009 Marina Skender
2008 Brittnee Cooper
2008 Elena Martinez
2007 Lauren DeGirolamo
2007 Elena Martinez
2006 Daniela Romero
2005 Ivana Kuzmic

Specialty Awards Under Flory
Year Player, Honor
2010 Desiree Elliott, SEC & Louisiana Freshman of the Year
2010 Angela Bensend, Louisiana Player of the Year
2009 Brittnee Cooper, SEC & Louisiana Player of the Year
2008 Elena Martinez, SEC & Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year
2008 Sam Dabbs, Louisiana Newcomer of the Year
2007 Elena Martinez, SEC & Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year
2006 Lauren DeGirolamo, Louisiana Freshman of the Year
2005 Marina Skender, SEC Freshman of the Year
2005 Daniela Romero, Louisiana Player of the Year
2004 Ivana Kuzmic, Louisiana Newcomer of the Year
2003 Lauren Leaumont, Louisiana Freshman of the Year
2001 Meagan Davis, Louisiana Player of the Year
1999 Jennifer Hampton, Louisiana Freshman of the Year