Augustana College printing logo
Women's Volleyball
Home > Athletics > Women's Volleyball  >  Head Coach

Head Coach

Coach

Janelle Hester was selected as the head volleyball coach at Augustana on March 10, 2008. She replaced Stacey Ruff, who resigned in January for family considerations. Hester, who enjoyed a remarkable high school career locally at Davenport Central High School, becomes the ninth head coach in Viking history.

"We are excited to have Janelle Hester join us at Augustana," said interim director of athletics Dave Wrath. "She has a vast knowledge of volleyball and enjoyed tremendous success as a player. She will be an asset to our program."

She was a three time all-state volleyball player in high school for the Blue Devils and she took her talent to the University of Tennessee where she was a two year starter and served as team captain of the Vols as a senior. Hester was twice named second team all-conference in the Southeastern Conference and was twice "Player of the Week". She recorded 436 kills as a junior in 2001.

After her playing career at Tennessee ended, she was selected to participate in the A2 Training Camp and was one of 32 players invited to try out at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Most recently, she took her talents to Europe where she played for the Nova KBM Branik Volleyball Club in Maribor, Slovenia during the 2006-07 season. She was third in kills on a team that eventually won the Slovenian Cup.

Hester started as a graduate assistant coach at St. Ambrose University in August of 2004 and was instrumental in many facets of the Queen Bee program, including physical conditioning, game plans and developing practices. She has also been involved in directing summer camps throughout the Quad City area since 2004. She served as the head coach for the "Dig This" club in 2004-05 and for the QC Platform Elite's from 2007 until the present.

"I am very excited about this opportunity," said Hester. "I really like the Augustana program and coach Ruff has left things in great shape. I am anxious to get started."

Hester graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in early childhood development and is currently on schedule to receive her master's in social work from St. Ambrose this spring.