I am most definitely a southern girl. I am originally from Gaffney, SC, the fourth of five children. I graduated from Gaffney Senior High School and spent my freshman year of college playing basketball at Clemson University. Actually, I spent my freshman year watching others play so I transferred to UNC-Charlotte. While I was at Charlotte I played tennis, too. I graduated from Charlotte in 1983 with a degree in History. My jobs out of college included coaching basketball at Florida International University in Miami, teaching NC History at Hawthorne Traditional School in Charlotte, NC, managing a Finish Line in Greensboro, NC, a short stint at The Gap, an even shorter one at Bath and Body and also working at Piedmont Airlines and US Airways in Winston-Salem, NC. Robyn Wesselman, the Mount Tabor High School volleyball coach in Winston-Salem, NC and I started the company, Winston Court Sports, in 1987. I left US Airways in 1996 to work full time on WCS. I changed the name to Lucky Dog Volleyball in 2006, in part, due to a small beagle found at NC A&T University. Lucky Dog Volleyball is quite dog friendly; we like people, too.
Maria Byars
Owner (Retired)
