Graydon “Tripp” Swisher was hired in July of 2013 as the fifth head coach in Union University volleyball program history. Now in his second season, Swisher came to Union after spending two seasons as the assistant coach at the University of Memphis.
In his first season as head coach, he led Union to an improvement of four wins, including three more wins in Gulf South Conference play from the season before.
Swisher has a career record of 11-24 (.314) as a head coach.
Among Swisher’s many duties as the assistant coach at Memphis, he helped with general player development, on court training, practice implementation, scouting, video analysis, camps, clinics, compliance, and stat analysis. During the two years on staff at the University of Memphis, the Tigers won several preseason tournaments. The Tigers were also ranked near the top in Conference-USA in numerous statistical categories, especially in 2011 when they were in the top-5 in kills, hitting percentage, and assists after having been near the bottom the previous year. They also led the conference in service aces. In 2012, the Tigers showed significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball as well. They improved in the C-USA in blocking and digging both as a team and individually. Swisher saw numerous preseason, weekly, and postseason awards given to numerous Tigers during the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. He also saw senior Altrese Hawkins become the all-time kills record holder at Memphis during the 2012 season.
In addition to his responsibilities at Memphis, Swisher also coached with the Memphis Metro Volleyball Club team. He worked with the 15’s team during the summer as they prepared for AAU Nationals, where they advanced to the title match.
Swisher spent 10 seasons (2004-2013) as a club coach and clinician for the Delta Force Volleyball Club in Memphis. From 2001-2007, Swisher was the freshman/junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant coach at Cordova High School.
Swisher has been recognized for his numerous years and success in the sport of volleyball, including being named a 2012-13 High Performance Coach. He is USA Volleyball IMPACT, CAP I, and CAP II certified through the USA Volleyball Education Program, as well as, Coaching Principles certified through the American Sports Education Program. He holds memberships in the Delta Region of USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Swisher is a 2006 graduate of Liberty University with a bachelor of science degree in psychology. While at Liberty, Swisher played two years on the Liberty University men's club team and competed in regional grass and beach tournaments across Virginia. Tripp also played one year with the University of Memphis Men's Club team. Tripp has competed in many grass and sand tournaments in the Memphis area.
The Memphis native graduated from Evangelical Christian School in 1994. While as ECS, Swisher played baseball, ran track, and cross country. He was named all-district in baseball. Swisher was introduced to the sport of volleyball through recreational sand volleyball while in high school.
Swisher was married to his wife Kathie in 2006.
All-Time Coaching Win/Loss Records| Year | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 1998 | Brian Dunn | 34-13 | 8-3 |
| 1999 | Brian Dunn | 44-6 | 11-0 |
| 2000 | Brian Dunn | 35-10 | 9-1 |
| 2001 | Brian Dunn | 32-6 | 8-2 |
| 2002 | Brian Dunn | 26-13 | 7-5 |
| 2003 | Brian Dunn | 41-9 | 11-2 |
| 2004 | Brian Dunn (243-62, .797) | 31-5 | 10-0 |
| 2005 | Steven Gream | 19-18 | 4-6 |
| 2006 | Steven Gream | 27-10 | 10-6 |
| 2007 | Steven Gream | 25-11 | 12-6 |
| 2008 | Steven Gream | 28-7 | 10-4 |
| 2009 | Steven Gream (122-50, .709)
Kelly Elliott | 23-4
7-6 | 7-4
2-1 |
| 2010 | Kelly Elliott | 24-9 | 13-1 |
| 2011 | Kelly Elliott (46-36, .561) | 15-21 | 7-6 |
| 2012 | Christy Mooberry (7-28, .200) | 7-28 | 1-15 |
| 2013 | Tripp Swisher (11-24, .314) | 11-24 | 4-14 |
| 2014 | Tripp Swisher | | |
