Rice University Athletics
Staff Directory
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Erin Fairs enters her second season at Rice after returning as an assistant coach in February 2025. She was selected as a recipient of the 2025 AVCA T.E.A.M. Award, a professional development program recognizing emerging volleyball leaders that includes participation in the AVCA Convention in Kansas City.
Fairs returned to Rice after retiring from professional volleyball. This marks her second stint with the Owls after serving as a volunteer assistant coach during the 2020 season.
Most recently, Fairs competed in Athletes Unlimited Professional Volleyball and served on the Athletes Unlimited Executive Board. She began her professional career with Engelholms in Sweden, helping the club capture the 2015-16 Elitserien championship. She also played professionally in Turkey with Maltepe Yali SK, Puerto Rico with Polluelas de Aibonito and Valencianas de Juncos, Romania with CSM Targoviste, Italy with Omag San Giovanni in Marignano and Greece with Aris Thessaloniki.
Following the 2017-18 season, Fairs helped "Team Dream" win the USA Adult Open National Championship. The team became the first all-African American squad to compete in the women's open division at the event.
Fairs concluded her collegiate career at Louisville, where she earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors after leading the Cardinals with 424 kills and 19 solo blocks. She was named to the ACC Preseason All-Conference Team, recorded five matches with at least 20 kills and averaged 3.91 kills and 4.35 points per set as a senior.
Before transferring to Louisville, Fairs starred at South Florida, where she was a three-time all-conference selection. She earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and First-Team All-AAC honors in 2013 after leading the conference with 429 kills. As a junior, she again earned First-Team All-AAC recognition after totaling 489 kills and 481 digs. Fairs was named the 2012 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and earned Second-Team All-BIG EAST honors as a freshman after leading the Bulls with 316 kills. She finished her USF career ranked eighth in program history with 1,234 kills and fourth with 1,301 digs.
A native of Richmond, Texas, Fairs was a four-year starter at Foster High School under head coach Tara Domel. She earned first-team all-district honors as a junior and was named to the Honorable Mention All-Texas Team. She also competed for Southwest Juniors and Absolute Volleyball Academy (AVA) under Christy Crislip and Katy Garza. In addition to volleyball, Fairs played basketball and competed in track and field at Foster.
