Lackey to be Inducted into Volleyball Hall of Fame

Gale Lackey, in her 33rd year of coaching at Wesleyan, and her 26th season at the helm of the women’s volleyball Cardinals, will be inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Volleyball Hall of Fame during its 13th annual induction ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The ceremony will take place at the Aqua Turf Country Club in Southington, Conn.  In total, six individuals will be enshrined this year, bringing the total in the CWVHOF up to 80.

Coach Lackey will become one of only six who are inducted as college coaches.  Others this year are being added to the Hall of Fame in the categories of high school coach, high school player, college player and official, the other primary categories.

Coach Lackey joined the Wesleyan coaching staff in 1978.  A 1970 graduate of West Chester University, Lackey was a high school coach for seven years before taking over at the University of Bridgeport for the 1977-78 season.  At Wesleyan, she handled both the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams during her first seven seasons (1978-1985).  She then switched to women’s volleyball during the fall of 1985 in the team’s second varsity season and has been a fixture there ever since.  She continued to coach the women’s lacrosse squad through the 1997 campaign.

Through the 2009 season, Lackey had amassed a 429-334 record at Wesleyan and had 442 total victories as a collegiate volleyball mentor.  She led the 2000 Cardinal squad to a 27-11 record and an ECAC Division III North title.  Her 2001 squad qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament with a best-ever 30-6 record.  Nine of the last 11 seasons have been winners for the Cardinals.

In addition to her coaching duties, Coach Lackey serves as an associate athetics director and as the senior woman administrator for the Wesleyan athletic department.