Nicki Holmes was named as North Carolina Central University’s fourth head volleyball coach on April 15, 2014.
"I am very excited about having Coach Holmes lead our women's volleyball program in a new era,” said NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree. “His diverse background, including his work with USA Volleyball programs, brings a wealth of experience to NCCU."
In his first season at NCCU, Holmes returned the Lady Eagles to the MEAC Tournament as the program missed postseason play in 2013. He coached one MEAC All-Conference honoree in Kelsey Murphy. His 2014 squad had eight players earn MEAC All-Academic praise. The team was later named only one of two MEAC member programs to earn an AVCA Team Academic Award for a combined GPA over 3.20 in 2014-2015.
Holmes came to NCCU after spending the prior two seasons as an assistant coach at Central Florida.
During his second season coaching UCF's setters, Holmes guided Marie Reiterova to a career-best 1,173 assists. Reiterova also led the American Athletic Conference with 11.39 assists per set and had a career-high 13 double-doubles. Her efforts allowed her to earn All-American Conference second team honors.
In his first season working directly with the Knights' setters, Holmes helped Reiterova set a new school record by earning Conference USA Setter of the Week three times. Reiterova dished out 1,035 assists on the year and was joined by true freshman Dana Faught who handed out 270 of her own as UCF experimented with a 6-2 formation.
Prior to UCF, Holmes served as a volunteer assistant at Stetson during the 2011 season. While on staff with the Hatters, he served as the recruiting coordinator and participated in the coordination of video and statistical analysis and game-day planning.
Prior to Stetson, Holmes began working with USA Volleyball in 2005 and has served in a multitude of capacities. Most recently, he has served as the program manager for U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT) at the 2015 USAV Girls' National Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana. Holmes has served as an assistant coach for the Youth A2 Program at the High Performance Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. He was also a head coach for the Future Select A2 Program in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Outside of volleyball, Holmes boasts an impressive resume in the private sector, having worked as a senior engineering manager while earning his MBA from Vanderbilt in 2011. After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1998, Holmes served as an officer for seven years and was hand-selected to the premier space unit in the United States Military.
