Mercer named Damian Elder as the its volleyball head coach Tuesday in an announcement made by athletics director Jim Cole.

Elder takes over his first head coaching position after spending 11 years as either an assistant or an associate coach in the Pac-12, the SEC and the Southern Conference.

Elder served as an assistant at the College of Charleston in 2011. Before his stint in Charleston, Elder spent five seasons as the associate head coach at South Carolina. Elder got his start in Division I volleyball at Stanford, spending two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach with the Cardinal.

“We are extremely pleased to add Coach Elder to the Mercer family,” Cole said. “He brings over a decade of top-level hardwood coaching experience and has proven the ability to build a successful sand volleyball program. I’m confident we have found the right man to lead our program going forward.”