Troy University Athletics
Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- skirkpatrick@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3926
Elijah “Sonny” Kirkpatrick is in his 11th season at the helm of the Troy University volleyball program in 2016, after he became the eighth head coach in program history in 2006.
In his first 10 seasons, Kirkpatrick has posted 135 victories as the head man in Troy, the second most in program history, while gradually climbing the ranks of the Sun Belt Conference. After narrowly missing the Sun Belt Tournament for three years, his team broke through in 2011, qualifying for the tournament, before really making a splash in 2012 and 2013.
Troy made its second straight appearance in the tournament’s semifinals in 2013. The Trojans’ finished eighth in the Sun Belt standings, just making their way into the tournament, which was being held at Trojan Arena. Troy then shocked the volleyball world with a quarterfinal win over top-seed WKU before falling in the semifinals in five sets.
Troy’s 2012 squad laid the groundwork for that semifinal run. The Trojans, who were picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt, posted a 21-12 overall record and a 10-5 Sun Belt record to finish second behind WKU. The 20-win season was the first in a decade for the Trojans while the 10 Sun Belt wins were the most in program history.
Troy defeated UL Lafayette in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament, marking the first Sun Belt Tournament win in program history, but fell to North Texas in the semifinals.
Also for the first time in program history, Troy had two All-Sun Belt selections in setter Alexandra Alexander and outside hitter Blair Winston. All four All-Sun Belt selections in the program’s history have come under Kirkpatrick’s watch. Alexander and Courtney Cohen were key pieces to Troy’s rise in the Sun Belt as each ended her career in 2013.
Cohen finished her career under Kirkpatrick as Troy’s all-time leader with 2,077 career digs and a 4.38 digs/set average. She became just the sixth player in Sun Belt history with 2,000 career digs. She was also the first Troy volleyball player to ever be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Alexander finished fifth in Troy history with 3,324 assists and became just the third in program history with 3,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs.
In 2011, Troy finished the season in a three-way tie for the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt Tournament with a 6-10 conference record, but for the first time under Kirkpatrick, made it to the postseason tournament. After a quarterfinal loss to eventual champion WKU, the Trojans finished the season with a 16-15 mark, the first winning record for the program since 2003.
During his first year at Troy, Kirkpatrick led the Trojans to a 9-24 overall record with seven newcomers on the team. The 2006 squad featured only four returning players from the 2005 team.
In 2007, Kirkpatrick led the Trojans to a 16-17 overall record and a 7-10 record in Sun Belt Conference play. The Trojans narrowly missed qualifying for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the conclusion of the season, finishing ninth overall - the team’s best finish since joining the conference.
In 2008, the Trojans assembled a 13-19 record under Kirkpatrick’s direction. The Trojans finished sixth in the Sun Belt’s East Division with a record of 4-13 in conference matches. The Trojans once again finished one game out of eighth place, the final qualifying spot for the conference tournament.
The 2009 season saw the Trojans climb to fourth in the East Division with a final Sun Belt record of 7-10. However, Troy suffered the same fate as the two previous seasons, this time finishing just half a game out of the eighth and final spot in the Sun Belt Tournament.
During that 2009 campaign, Kirkpatrick saw one of his players make history as Meghan Gilroy became the first Trojan to earn All-Sun Belt honors in the program’s history. The senior middle hitter was named to the second team after finishing the regular season second in the Sun Belt in kills per set at 4.23.
Gilroy, part of Kirkpatrick’s first recruiting class at Troy finished her career with 1,447 kills, the third most in school history. She also finished her career with 299 total blocks, at the time the most ever by a Trojan. Gilroy went on to play professionally in Italy.
Before coming to Troy, Kirkpatrick served as the head volleyball coach at Francis Marion University, a powerhouse in the Peach Belt Conference and at the NCAA Division II level. In six seasons as the Patriots’ head coach, Kirkpatrick took his program from the bottom of the conference standings to a league championship in his final season, with a 29-11 record. That same year, the team qualified for the NCAA South Region.
In 2004, Kirkpatrick was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year, after leading his team to a 21-14 record. He compiled a 95-115 mark at Francis Marion, and owns a career coaching record of 374-406 in 23 years as a head coach, including eight seasons at his alma mater, Lycoming College.
The York, Pa., native’s tenure at Lycoming (Williamsport, Pa.) included a pair of trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 1997 and 1998. Between 1995 and 1999, Lycoming posted a 27-1 mark in Freedom League competition, within the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference (MAC), the oldest and largest NCAA Division III conference.
Kirkpatrick was twice named the Freedom League Coach of the Year, in 1997 and 1998, while his teams won the league championships from 1995 through 1999.
Kirkpatrick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Lycoming in 1991. Before taking over the Warrior volleyball program, he served as an assistant men’s soccer coach in 1991. He also worked as a quality control analyst at Lonza, Inc., in Williamsport from 1991 to 2000.
Kirkpatrick and his wife, Kathy, have two daughters, Emma and Olivia.
Coaching Experience
Lycoming College, men’s soccer assistant coach (1991)
Lycoming College, head coach (1992-99)
Francis Marion, head coach (2000-05)
Troy, head coach (2006-present)
The Sonny Kirkpatrick File
Hometown York, Pa.
College Lycoming College (Biology), 1991
Family Kathy (wife), Emma (daughter), Olivia (daughter)
