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Tania Gooley Humphry

Tania Gooley Humphry Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics  
Release:   11/25/2014

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Tania Gooley Humphry

It’s been all about volleyball for inductee Tania Gooley-Humphry; from being a go-to player on the volleyball court at New Mexico, to becoming an Olympian, to playing professionally in Australia, to establishing her own volleyball school.

An Australian native, Gooley-Humphry came to New Mexico in 1991. In just her freshman season as a Lobo, she was part of the 1991 Western Athletic Conference Championship team — along with 2007 Hall of Honor inductee and best friend Pauline Manser — which went on to play in the NCAA Sweet 16, the fourth NCAA appearance in Lobo volleyball history.

Gooley-Humphry goes down as one of the most decorated volleyball players in UNM history, earning many accolades in her four years. She was a three-time All-WAC selection, a three-time All-West Region selection and was UNM’s MVP for two seasons.

She is ranked in many statistical categories. In UNM’s all-time categories, Gooley-Humphry is first on the list in kills with 1,579. She is first in attempts (3,721), first in points (1,818), sixth in digs (1,113) and fifth in aces (109). In a single-season, Gooley-Humphry is 10th in kills after collecting 433 kills in 1993. She is seventh in attempts, recording 1,131 in 1994. She is fourth in points (550.0) and fifth in aces with 39.

In her junior season, she collected 35 kills against Colorado State on November 6, 1993 which is the second most kills in a single match in UNM history. She also had 70 attempts against CSU the next season which is fifth most attempts in a single match.

After her senior season, she was named UNM’s Hall of Honor Female Athlete of the Year in 1995.  But it wasn’t just about volleyball for Gooley-Humphry. She also was successful in the classroom. Majoring in exercise technology, Gooley-Humphry finished with a 3.4 GPA.

Following her collegiate career, Gooley-Humprhy became a professional volleyball player, switching from the hardwood to the sandy beaches of her home country. In 1996, she was the number one beach volleyball player in South Australia and continued that rank until 2003.

During those years, she competed for Australia at the international level on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World tour and finished fifth in the 2000 Beach Volleyball Olympics. In 2002, she earned the top honor of Australian Beach Volleyball National Tour Champion and Most Valuable Player.

Once she decided her professional career was finished, she was a school teacher for two years in Adalaide, South Australia. Following her teaching career, Gooley-Humphry established the “Tania Gooley Beach Volleyball School”, her own school to teach young individuals the game of volleyball and potentially watch them grow into professional athletes.

Gooley-Humphry currently resides in Australia with her husband and two daughters Jessica and Madison.

“Part of having a good program is establishing tradition and she is a big part of our tradition here,” said current head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson, who nominated Gooley-Humphry for this award. “She is a great volleyball player and all of her accolades and records have created a great sense of history and tradition that she has been a part of.”