North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T head volleyball coach Hal Clifton announced Blaine Tendler as an assistant coach on June 29, 2016. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach before the 2018 season. Blaine works as the program’s recruiting coordinator and in charge of practice planning and technique development.
 
 The Aggies have enjoyed tremendous success with Tendler as Clifton’s top assistant. The duo has elevated A&T’s international recruiting to bolster A&T’s depth and level of talent. The Aggies won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title thanks to a thrilling 3-2 semifinal tournament win over Delaware State and a four-set win over Coppin State in the final. 
  
 The Aggies have also won two regular-season MEAC titles during Tendler’s tenure. The Aggies produced a .500 or better match-win percentage in five of his first six seasons. In addition, the Aggies made three consecutive postseason appearances, earning invitations to the 2019 and 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournaments. They also earned the program’s first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in the spring of 2021, where they earned a forfeit win over Rice before losing to perennial NCAA power Penn State. 
  
 Tendler started his coaching career in 1982 and has over 40 years of coaching experience. Prior to A&T, Tendler was the owner and head coach of Piedmont Volleyball Club. He also spent 14 years in the USA Volleyball National High Performance pipeline as a head coach for several USA teams and development camps. 

His time with USA Volleyball was highlighted by being named as an assistant coach for the USA Women’s Junior National Team from 2012-2013. They competed in the NORCECA Championships in Nicaragua and the World Championships in Brno, Czech Republic. His international experiences continued this spring when Trinidad & Tobago invited him to consult for the Women’s U19 team.
 
 An all-conference player at the University of Regina in Canada, Tendler graduated in 1991 with a degree in sports administration. He spent two years coaching professionally in Europe before returning to North America. In 2021, he was twice inducted into his hometown of Yorkton, Saskatchewan’s Sports Hall of Fame. The same year, Blaine was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Volleyball Hall of Fame.
 
 After coaching in Europe, Tendler spent five years coaching at the Division I level and two years in Division III.  He spent time at Bridgewater College (2001-2003), Drake University (1998-2000), and Illinois State (1995-1998). As a player, Tendler’s Canada Games Team won the 1985 National Championship.  Tendler’s wife, Mary, is the head volleyball coach at Elon University.