Head coach Debbie Kirch enters her 11th season at Green Bay, giving her the longest tenure at the Phoenix volleyball helm in program history. Kirch boosted the Phoenix win total in five straight seasons from 1999-2003, and led the 2006 squad to its best Horizon League finish in school history.

After inheriting a team that went just 3-26 the year prior to her arrival, Kirch has guided her squads to double-digit win totals each of the past six seasons.

Through commitment to recruiting in-state talent, top players and clubs in the Midwest and further development of their skills, Kirch turned the Phoenix from doormat into conference champion.

The list of individual honors awarded her players is impressive: two Academic All-Americans, Conference co-Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, 11 first-team all-league selections, seven all-newcomer picks and a League Defensive Player of the Year. Under her leadership, Green Bay had two individuals earn first-team All-Horizon League honors every year from 2002-05 and one more in 2006. Prior to 2001, the Phoenix hadn't had a first-team all-conference selection since 1989.

A year ago, despite being tabbed to finish seventh in the preseason poll, the Phoenix earned its highest Horizon League finish ever by tying for second place. The squad's 8-6 record marked the second time the program finished over .500 in league play with both happening in the past four seasons. Under Kirch's direction, junior setter Betty Slinger led the nation with 11 triple-doubles.

On Sept. 9, 2006, Kirch became the first Green Bay volleyball coach to earn career win No. 100, as the Phoenix defeated IUPUI in five games.

The Phoenix rose to new heights in 2003. A team-best 23-11 record, the Horizon League tournament title and the first NCAA tournament appearance in the history of the program highlighted the landmark season. The Phoenix also earned its first-ever win over a Big Ten team that season, upsetting Indiana in the five-game championship match of the Hoosiers' own Taylor/TIS Invitational.

The 2003 campaign opened with six straight wins, a streak the Phoenix would match in October during league play. Ranked among the top 10 teams in the Midwest Region throughout the year, Green Bay showed its mettle with upsets of the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds the Horizon League tournament to earn the title and NCAA automatic berth. The team dropped its first-round match at Minnesota which went on to advance to the national semifinals.

After guiding the Phoenix volleyball program to prominence, Kirch earned recognition for her efforts earning Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors in from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Kirch was also among nine finalists for National Coach of the Year honors.

Green Bay posted its first-ever back-to-back wins over league foes Butler and Wright State in 2002 and recorded a road upset of league tournament champion Milwaukee and the first-ever Green Bay win over regional rival DePaul. The team also swept UIC in the first round of the Horizon League championship, Green Bay's first as the host school, avenging a regular season home loss to the Flames the previous week.

The team's tie for third place in the 2002 league standings was the best in 20 years of program history at the time.

In 2001, the Phoenix won its first-ever conference tournament match since joining the Division I ranks, and Kirch guided Green Bay to a repeat performance in 2002.

The watershed 2001 season opened with back-to-back non-conference tournament wins at the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Classic and the AmeriHost Invitational. In a testament to the improved talent level and offensive prowess of the team, 15 Green Bay statistical records were broken over the course of the season.

Off the court, Kirch's teams earned four straight appearances on the AVCA Academic Team Award list from 2001-04 and then again in 2007 after the squad led all Green Bay athletics programs with an impressive 3.64 GPA during the spring semester. In 2003 the team earned the Horizon League's Community Service and "Raise Your Sights" awards for volunteer hours in the community and the highest team GPA among league-sponsored women's sports at Green Bay. Last year's team combined to volunteer nearly 175 hours of community service in the Green Bay area during the 2006-07 academic year.

Prior to her appointment as Green Bay head coach, Kirch served as both the assistant women's volleyball coach and head coach of the men's volleyball club team at Northwestern University. Kirch was also an assistant at Mississippi State University and head coach of both the boys and girls volleyball programs at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill.

She coached five Chicago Tribune all-stars, two all-state members, and three high school players who played at the collegiate Division I level. In 1995, Kirch led the New Trier boys team to a 33-4 record and the Illinois high school state championship. She also served as the school's publications and public information assistant.

Kirch earned a bachelor's degree in communication in 1988 from the University of Denver, where she was a volleyball letterwinner from 1985-87. The defensive specialist was a two-time Continental Divide Conference All-Academic first team selection. She earned a master's degree in sports administration from Mississippi State in 1990.

An avid runner who has twice completed the Green Bay Marathon, Kirch is married to Green Bay associate athletics director Dan McIver. The couple resides on Green Bay's west side.