Maris (Below) Hall joined the Jaguar volleyball staff as assistant coach in April 2021, and enters her fourth season with the program.
As the recruiting coordinator, Hall has been instrumental in recruiting the talented individuals that have contributed to the volleyball program’s success during her time in Mobile. Among her duties, Hall helps with on boarding incoming Jaguars, and works with the academic counseling department. On the court, Hall serves as the team’s defensive coordinator.
The Jaguars have excelled in the classroom as 22 student-athletes have been named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List, and eight have earned Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll honors during Hall’s time with the program. Additionally, Kailey Keeble was honored as a Second Team Academic All-American selection by College Sports Communicators, the first player in program history to be named an Academic All-American following the 2023 season.
Led by Lillie Simons, South Alabama led the Sun Belt and ranked 32nd nationally in blocks with 2.56 per set in 2024. Individually, Simons ranked fifth in blocks with 1.14 per set.
The 2023 season saw the Jaguars return to the postseason as the club finished with a 22-9 record and a 12-4 mark in league play. The 12-4 league mark tied with both Texas State and Troy for the best in the West Division. South Alabama made the program’s second trip in three seasons to the NCAA Tournament, competing in Gainesville, Fla.
Hannah Maddux earned first-team all-league honors for the third time in her career, while Niki Capizzi and Maddie Soboleski were named to the second team.
Maddux ranked among the best in the nation in kills per set as she was tied for 36th (4.09), 26th in points (560.5), tied for 16th in aces (54) and tied for 37th in kills (466). Maddux (third) and Capizzi (10th) were Top 10 in the conference in kills per set, while the former was also second in the Sun Belt in points service aces and aces per set.
As a team, the Jaguars ranked Top 50 nationally in several categories: 16th in opponent hitting percentage (.163), 34th in digs per set (16.21), 38th in total digs (1,848), 42nd in blocks per set (2.48) and 48th in total blocks (283.0). South led the SBC in opponent hitting percentage, while ranking second in the conference in digs per set, and third in blocks.
Maddux also made history as she became the program’s first player to be drafted professionally as she was the fifth selection in fourth round - 26th overall - by the Las Vegas Thrill in the Inaugural Draft by the Professional Volleyball Federation.
During the 2022 season, Rachel Hickey become the program’s first player to be named the Sun Belt Conference Libero of the Year, while she and Maddux earned first-team all-league honors. Capizzi and Keeble also received second-team accolades.
South Alabama again had individuals among the nation’s best as Maddux finished the season ranked 26th in points (547.5) and 31st in kills (478). Maddux (4.05 kps) and Maddie Soboleski (3.63 kps) ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, in the SBC in kills, while Capizzi (fourth) and Morgan Stalcup (sixth) ranked in the Top of the league in hitting percentage. Stalcup and Capizzi led the defensive front ranking second and seventh, respectively, in blocks.
Led by the duo, South Alabama ranked 35th nationally in total blocks (294.5) and was tied for 40th in blocks per set (2.50), while also tying for 45th in digs (1,856).
In her first season with the program, Hall helped lead the USA to its first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular-season title, first SBC Tournament championship and first NCAA postseason appearance. South Alabama set a new program record for SBC wins (15) in a season in 2021, and its 25 overall wins were the most by a Jaguar team since the 1987 squad won 26 matches. USA’s 25 wins ranked as the third-most in a season in program history.
The Jags’ put together a 13-game win streak down the stretch of the regular season and into the SBC postseason, which marked the longest since the 1987 team won 15 consecutive matches. South Alabama led the SBC in opponent hitting percentage (.145), opponent assists per set (10.49), opponent kills per set (11.29), ranked second in opponent service aces per set (1.04) and blocks per set (2.42).
The Jags also ranked among the nation’s leaders in opponent hitting percentage (10th), 30th in aces (198), tied for 41st in both aces per set (1.71) and digs (1,848), and tied for 42nd in total blocks (275.5). Individually, Keeble ranked 16th in the NCAA in assists (1,228) and Hickey was tied for 43rd in digs (524).
Four Jaguars earned all-conference honors – Kailey Keeble was named first-team all-SBC, while Hannah Maddux, Maddie Soboleski and Kennedy Wallace were each voted second-team all-SBC – which marked the most in a single-season in program history. Keeble was also named the SBC Championship Most Valuable Player, and earned all-tournament honors along with Niki Capizzi.
Hall was a three-year captain and four-year letterwinner at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned all-MAC honorable mention honors as a senior at outside hitter in 2016 after recording 269 kills and 282 digs where she held the Redhawks finish with a 24-7 record and claim the MAC regular season championship with a 15-1 record. Miami (Ohio) also earned an at-large bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the first appearance for the program since the 2008 season. Over her final three seasons with the program, the Redhawks compiled 66 wins and posted a 39-9 mark the MAC. Over her four seasons, Hall started 91 of the 117 matches she played, recoding 760 kills and 1,024 digs. Ortiz was an assistant coach at Miami for the first three years of Hall’s career.
After finishing her career at Miami (Ohio), Hall played professionally in Austria for Steelvolleys Linz-Steg (2017-18). Hall participated in the Community Olympic Development Program as a coach in 2015, and also coached Borderline Volleyball Club in 2016-17.
Hall and her husband, Denny, married in July 2025. The Springfield, Mo., native earned her bachelor’s degree in international business from Miami (Ohio) in 2018.
