St. Mary's assistant volleyball coach Gary Payne didn t start playing the sport until his mid-20s, when some of his friends thought they could use his natural jumping ability in a sand match.

"I couldn't hit or pass," Payne said with a chuckle, "but I could jump."

He quickly mastered everything else, becoming so enamored by the sport that he decided to become a coach.

And it's taken him all of two seasons to put those skills to use at St. Mary's. Assisting head coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman, Payne helped revive the Lady Rattlers' volleyball program in 2010, leading St. Mary's to its first-ever NCAA regional-tournament berth on the heels of winning the Heartland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2000. Last season, they added to that by achieving their first winning season since 2006 with a 17-13 mark.

Last season, the Rattlers won their first 10 matches of the season, making it the best start ni program history. Payne helped make Warmack-Chipman's 2011 season a winning one, improving their 15-18 record in 2010 to 17-13 last season for their first winning season since 2006. It also produced St. Mary's most efficient hitter, senior Stephanie Proske, who set the school's single-season mark for hitting percentage at .323.

Winning nine of their final 14 matches, the Rattlers posted a 15-18 mark in 2010. By qualifying for the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament, St. Mary's advanced to the regional stage for the first time since doing so as a member of the NAIA in 1998.

As St. Mary's assistant coach, Payne focuses much of his time on recruiting, breaking down film, working with the outside hitters/right-side hitters, and teaching passing and defense.

Payne, a native of Chappell, Neb., joined the Rattlers' coaching staff in July 2010 after spending the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, a program that is consistently nationally ranked. Prior to that, he spent two years as the head coach at McCook Community College in McCook, Neb., and five years as an assistant at Weldon Valley School in Weldona, Colo. He has also coached club volleyball off and on for the previous 14 years.

As a player, the leftie played in the AVPNext, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour s membership-based grassroots program, where he was a step away from turning pro in 2-on-2 grass competition.

Payne received both his Bachlor of Arts in Education and Masters of Arts in Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Before embarking upon a career in volleyball, Payne spent "two years, nine months and 17 days" in the Army, including serving a tour in Iraq in 1991.