Joey Pacis is in his seventh season at Merrimack College as the head volleyball coach with a career record of 84-91.

Pacis has taken the Merrimack volleyball program to new heights in the last two seasons. He guided Merrimack to its second-straight and second-career NCAA appearance, while earning Northeast-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year. The Warriors won 20 games for the first time in school history and reached the Northeast-10 Championship for the second straight year. Four players earned All-Conference honors, including first-team honorees Ale Kuncaitis and Molly Cindric, as Merrimack earned a fifth seed in the NCAA East Regional. Cindric, who was named the Merrimack Female Athlete of the Year, became the first player in program history to earn All-American honors with a honorable mention honor.

In 2007, Pacis took the Warriors to their first ever NCAA appearance, while being named the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year. His squad posted 19 victories, while Cindric earned NE-10 Freshman of the Year honors. Merrimack upset Bentley in the Northeast-10 Semifinals, advancing to its second-ever Conference Championship.

Pacis guided the Warriors to the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Tournament in 2004, where Merrimack defeated UMass Lowell 3-2 in the quarterfinals before falling to Bentley 3-2 in the semifinals.

In 2003, the Warriors recorded an 11-20 record and an 8-6 mark in the Northeast-10, but saw his team catch fire in the post-season and advance to the conference championship with wins over UMass Lowell (3-2) and American International (3-1). Prior to being named head coach in February 2003, Pacis served as an assistant with the Merrimack program for three years.

Pacis was an outstanding player for the University of Illinois, serving as the team’s starting setter for four years. In 1994, he helped the Fighting Illini win its first Big Ten men’s volleyball championship and earned Second Team All-Tournament honors. Illinois finished No. 17 in the nation his senior year. While at Illinois, Pacis volunteered as a student coach for the women’s Division I volleyball program under the direction of Mike Hebert. Pacis assisted with running drills and scrimmaging. He also coached the Fighting Illini summer volleyball camps while attending Illinois.

A native of Southern California, Pacis graduated from Illinois in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering. Pacis is employed as an Environmental Engineer for Haley & Aldrich in Boston and resides in Watertown. He and his wife, Holly, reside in Watertown and welcomed their first child, Ryan, in May 2006.

TJ Hajjar enters his first season as an assistant volleyball coach at Merrimack College.

Hajjar is in his eighth year as the Assistant Boys Volleyball Coach at Lawrence High School. Since 2000, he has also been the Director of Volleyball Operation and the 18 and under Head Coach for the Nor’East Volleyball Club Junior Olympics.

Hajjar also runs tryouts as the Men’s Open Head Coach for the Baystate Games and works as a certified personal trainer for the Workout Club in Salem, NH.

As a player, he earned three Bay State Games gold medals and two silver medals from 1998 to 2007. Hajjar continues to play volleyball regularly in A/AA level USA Volleyball local and national tournaments.

Hajjar is employed as a Senior Engineering Technician for MHF Design Consultants in Salem, NH. He resides in Salem with his wife and two daughters.