Elon Volleyball Camps

Coaching Staff

Tina Readling
Associate Head Volleyball Coach

Tina Readling, now in her sixth season, rejoined the Elon volleyball staff in March of 2012 as an assistant coach. She was promoted to her current role as associate head coach in 2015 and serves as the team's recruiting coordinator.

Readling returned to Elon after serving as a volunteer assistant at Duke University during the 2011 season. She was a volunteer assistant with the Elon program in 2010 when the team won the SoCon North Division championship.

In the 2017 season, Phoenix Volleyball achieved several program firsts in the CAA, including first-time conference wins over Hofstra and UNC-Wilmington, as well as their first appearance in the CAA Conference Tournament.  Also in 2017, senior captain Sydney Busa became the first Phoenix volleyball player to receive All-CAA First-team honors; and first-year setter Kodi Garcia, in addition to being named to the CAA All-Rookie team, received a program-first honor as CAA Rookie of the Year.  

During the course of the 2017 season, several players received personal accolades and hit personal milestones.  Junior libero Maddie Jaudon reached the 1,000 career dig mark, while Sydney Busa reached the 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs marks as well. Busa, along with Kodi Garcia, Kam Terry, and Courtney Carpenter, received mulitple CAA Player of the Week honors throughout the season. Several of the Phoenix were named to non-conference all-tournament teams as well.  The Phoenix capped their 2017 home stint and final season in Alumni Gym with their first full weekend sweep of two CAA opponents, beating Hofstra in the fifth set on Friday and then sweeping Northeastern in three on Sunday for Senior Day.   Alumni Gym was good to the Phoenix in its farewell season, helping the team to its best home record (11-5) since entering the CAA.

In 2014, Readling helped Elon through the conference transition as the Phoenix played its first year in the CAA. On Oct. 31, the maroon and gold claimed its first CAA victory with a 3-2 win over visiting William & Mary. Elon saw Sydney Busa earn a CAA All-Rookie selection and was also named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 6, while Megan Gravley earned CAA All-Academic Team honors.

During the 2013 season, Readling helped the Phoenix to its fourth straight SoCon Tournament berth. During the season Elon claimed the tournament title at the 49er Invitational after wins over Tennessee State, South Carolina State and host Charlotte. The Phoenix saw senior Cali Estes and rookie Ally Karle to all-conference honors as Estes was named to the All-SoCon second team after posting six triple-doubles on the season. Karle earned all-freshman accolades and was also named the SoCon Freshman of the Week during the year. Four players - Gravley, Kris Harris, Ana Nicksic and Maggie Reichard - were also earned academic all-conference honors.

In 2012, the team recorded a 9-7 SoCon record, a second-place finish in the North Division and a trip to the SoCon Tournament for the third straight season. The Phoenix posted a 6-2 mark in October, which was capped with four straight victories, including the team’s first win at Davidson in five seasons. Elon had three SoCon player of the week selections in Ali Deatsch (defensive/twice) and Harris (offensive), one player of the month selection in Celia Rose Eddy (defensive) and saw two freshmen (Gravley and Nicksic) named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team for the second straight year. Five players (Deatsch, Eddy, Harris, Allison Johnson and Reichard) were also named to the Fall All-SoCon Academic Team.

While at Duke under head coach Jolene Nagel, Readling helped coach the team to third in the Atlantic Coast Conference and an NCAA tournament appearance. Readling assisted with scouting opponents, edited match video and worked primarily with the defense and passers. She coached the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in Ali McCurdy and three all-ACC players.

Readling spent the 2010 season as a volunteer assistant at Elon when the program went 21-14 and 11-5 in SoCon play, winning its first conference division championship. She edited scouting video and assisted in practices, while also coordinating the team’s alumni weekend, Dig Pink match and senior night events.

Prior to her first role with the Phoenix, she worked as an assistant coach and lead clinician at Carolina Region High Performance. Readling assisted the Carolina Region High Performance Youth Team, which represented the Carolina region in Tucson, Ariz., at the 2011 National High Performance Championships.

Readling worked as a club coach for seven years at Piedmont and Alamance Force Volleyball Clubs, personally helping 22 players move on to play at varying levels of collegiate volleyball. While at Alamance Force from 2005-08, she coached the 17s and 18s teams and served as the assistant club director the last to years. Readling moved to Piedmont Volleyball Club in 2008 where she worked under director Blaine Tendler, the 2010 USAV National Junior Clinician of the Year. She worked with multiple age groups, including serving as the lead coach for the 14s during the 2011 club season.

For four years, Readling worked the assistant volleyball director at the Greensboro Sportsplex, one of the largest multisport facilities in the Southeast. In this role, she assisted with the operations of Sportsplex Volleyball Club and the youth development programs. Readling also directed all adult volleyball programming including Greensboro Grass Volleyball tournaments.

Before working at the Sportsplex, Readling taught English and coached at Alamance Christian School in Graham, N.C., for 10 years. She graduated from Bryan College with a bachelor’s degree in English education in 1999. Readling was named the Female Athlete of the Year at Bryan following her senior season with the volleyball team.

The former Tina Johnson, Readling and her husband, Josh, have been married for 15 years and reside in Gibsonville, N.C.

Karlis Dunens
Assistant Volleyball Coach

Karlis Dunens is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Phoenix. Dunens started at Elon University in January 2016 after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Memphis. Dunens works primarily with the team’s defense, while also coordinating team travel and playing a key role in recruiting as well.

In the 2017 season, Dunens helped Phoenix Volleyball achieve several program firsts in the CAA, including first-time conference wins over Hofstra and UNC-Wilmington, as well as their first appearance in the CAA Conference Tournament.  Also in 2017, senior captain Sydney Busa became the first Phoenix volleyball player to receive All-CAA First-team honors; and first-year setter Kodi Garcia, in addition to being named to the CAA All-Rookie team, received a program-first honor as CAA Rookie of the Year.  

During the course of the 2017 season, several players received personal accolades and hit personal milestones.  Junior libero Maddie Jaudon reached the 1,000 career dig mark, while Sydney Busa reached the 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs marks as well. Busa, along with Kodi Garcia, Kam Terry, and Courtney Carpenter, received mulitple CAA Player of the Week honors throughout the season. Several of the Phoenix were named to non-conference all-tournament teams as well.  The Phoenix capped their 2017 home stint and final season in Alumni Gym with their first full weekend sweep of two CAA opponents, beating Hofstra in the fifth set on Friday and then sweeping Northeastern in three on Sunday for Senior Day.   Alumni Gym was good to the Phoenix in its farewell season, helping the team to its best home record (11-5) since entering the CAA.

During the 2015 season, Dunens served as a volunteer assistant coach at Memphis, helping the team to a 19-14 overall record. While with the Tigers, he was responsible for training the middle blockers, coordinating blocking schemes and strategies and scouting opposing offenses.

Prior to Memphis, Dunens was an assistant volleyball coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, from 2011-15. He trained five all-America selections and 11 all-conference selections while with the Pirates, coaching the team to the NCAA DIII first round in 2011 and 2012 and to the second round in 2013. The Pirates went a combined 107-37 in his four years as an assistant.

Dunens spent the 2011 season as an assistant coach at the University of Houston, helping coach the team to a 19-13 record, which was a 10-win improvement from the previous season. That season UH had two players earn first team all-conference honors. With the Cougars, he helped train players during practices and served as the team’s video, travel and camp coordinator.

Dunens moved to Houston after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Jacksonville State. In 2009, he helped guide the Gamecocks to a 27-8 record, an Ohio Valley Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Championships, while five members of the squad earned postseason honors. During his two seasons with the Gamecocks, Dunens also planned and organized the program’s volleyball camps.

Prior to Jacksonville State, Dunens was a manager and volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2006-2008. With the Aggies, he assisted with drills during practice and was in charge of the team and scouting videos.

Dunens played volleyball as a member of the Texas A&M club team, before serving as the coach from 2006-2008. In addition, he was the women's volleyball club coach from 2003-2005.

A native of Houston, Dunens graduated from Texas A&M in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in electronics engineering technology.

Karlis and his wife Amanda, who is an athletic trainer at Elon, reside in Graham, NC with their newborn daughter, Ella.