Yana Ninova-Johnson will begin her fourth season with the South Alabama volleyball program in 2010.
During the spring of 2008, Ninova-Johnson teamed up with fellow Bulgarian native, Evelina Tcholakova in an attempt to qualify to represent her home country of Bulgaria in beach volleyball at this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
The Jaguar assistant entered the collegiate coaching ranks with many impressive credentials set during her playing career. A four-year letterwinner (2000-03) at the University of North Alabama, Ninova-Johnson was a four-time First Team All-Gulf South Conference selection and a four-time First Team South Central Region selection. During her junior and senior seasons, she was also named an American Volleyball Coaches’ Association All-American and as a senior earned Daktronics All-American honors after leading North Alabama to the NCAA Division II National Championship. For her efforts in the GSC tourney that same year, she was named the Most Outstanding Player for the second straight season.
The Vidin, Bulgaria native also set numerous individual records at North Alabama. While at UNA, she set the school’s single-match record for kills in a game with 36 against Central Missouri State, as well as the single-season mark for kills (857), kills per set (6.12) and double figure kill matches (39). She also established a new school record for kills per set for a career with 4.90 per contest. Ninova-Johnson finished her career at North Alabama with 2,287 kills in 466 games. As a senior, she set a new NCAA Division II Tournament record with 160 kills. This past summer, Ninova-Johnson was one of 10 former North Alabama volleyball players to be named to the Gulf South Conference’s All-Decade Team as she was a first-team selection.
Ninova-Johnson graduated from UNA with a degree in Finance and Economics in May 2004 and worked as a summer volleyball coach and club coach three years prior to arriving at South Alabama. She is married to Kyle E. Johnson and the couple has a newborn, Eli James.
