Melinda Venable Kirst was a member of the first Howard Payne women’s volleyball team in the mid-1970s. She also played a key role in bringing intercollegiate women’s sports to HPU, serving on the school’s intercollegiate sports committee as a student. She was co-captain of the volleyball team for two seasons and named outstanding hitter her junior and senior year. She graduated in 1978 and went on to start three high school volleyball programs around the state, winning 508 career matches. She was named district Coach of the Year four times and her teams made 13 state playoff appearances. Nine of her teams were also honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Academic National Excellence award. She was the first coach selected for the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ All-Star Volleyball match. Kirst is one of only nine women ever in Texas to be athletic director in a school district for both boys’ and girls’ programs. She has served as a Texas Catholic Interscholastic League and TAPPS district president, a TAPPS executive board member, and as an AVCA high school All-American selection committee member.