The 1976-79 Women's Volleyball teams were inducted into the AIC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024, recognizing a historically fast rise to the top for any program.
Judy Groff founded the team in 1974, and despite having command of both volleyball and softball, was able to quickly build a successful program on the court. It took just three years to go from nonexistent to their first MAIAW Tournament appearance in 1976, and the team, led by Debbie Rog, finished a seven-game winning streak in the Tournament, winning the College's first women's conference championship.
After a 13-win season in 1977 that set a new high-water mark for the team, the squad returned to the MAIAW Tournament in 1978 and 1979, sweeping through both championships to win three titles in four years, an astounding run for a program that had only been created six years prior. Until the 2021-24 teams took three NE10 titles in four seasons, the run of success was unmatched in AIC's history.
Along with being inducted as part of the 1978-79 Softball teams and her prior inductions as an individual and as part of the 1997-98 Softball teams, Head Coach Judy Groff is now a four-time inductee into the AIC Athletics Hall of Fame, far and away the most of anyone in AIC history.
