2/20/26

In NCAA Division III men’s volleyball, 12 women currently serve as head coaches across 142 sponsoring programs. That is roughly 8.5 percent, or one woman for every eleven men. Hold that number in your head, because the sports world is about to tell you it is remarkable.

They are not wrong. Across all NCAA men’s teams in all divisions and all sports, women hold approximately 6 percent of head coaching positions. In football, the number rounds to zero. In baseball, it rounds to zero. In men’s basketball across all three divisions, it rounds to zero. So yes, by the warped math of college athletics, D3 men’s volleyball is a progressive frontier.

But 8.5 percent is still one in twelve. In 2026, that needs to be said plainly.

D3 men’s volleyball has grown faster than almost any other NCAA sport over the past decade, from roughly 100 programs in 2015 to 142 today. That expansion created a structural opening that does not exist elsewhere: dual-coaching arrangements where one person runs both the men’s and women’s programs at a small college operating on a lean athletic budget. That model has made gender-diverse hiring a practical choice for administrators who might otherwise never consider it. The sport has benefited. And the ceiling is still sitting at less than one in ten.

Jillian Glover arrived at Mount Aloysius College through the kind of playing career that does not appear on any recruiting profile. She started at Elderton Jr. Sr. High School in seventh grade. When Elderton closed for her freshman year she transferred to West Shamokin, earned a starting spot as an opposite, and helped the team win the WPIAL Championship and reach the PIAA state semifinals in 2009. Elderton reopened. She went back, won another WPIAL title in 2011 as a junior. Then Elderton closed again, and she returned to West Shamokin as a senior on a brand new roster, building chemistry from scratch for the fourth time in four years.

That instability is not just biography. It is her coaching philosophy.

She went on to play Division II volleyball at Edinboro University on an athletic scholarship, where she navigated shoulder surgery that cost her two seasons and an ACL reconstruction that cost her another. She sat on the bench. She fought back. She competed for a starting spot and eventually earned it. Today she still competes in the Volleyball League of America with Pittsburgh’s Steel City Surge, which means she is not drawing on old memories when she coaches. She is drawing on last weekend.

“I understand what it feels like to be sidelined, to doubt yourself, to compete for a spot, and to commit to something bigger than individual statistics,” Glover said. “That perspective allows me to connect with my athletes beyond the X’s and O’s.”

Under her leadership, Mount Aloysius reached the AMCC playoffs for the first time in program history and produced First-Team All-Conference honoree Matthew Franz and Second-Team All-Conference and Co-Student-Athlete of the Year Andrew Wlodarczyk.

When the credibility question comes up, Glover does not step around it.

“I was told I played sports like a boy because I was assertive and competitive, as if strength and intensity belonged to masculinity,” she said. “I can wear a bow in my hair, full makeup, and heels and still know exactly what I’m talking about. Knowledge is knowledge. Preparation is preparation. Leadership is leadership.”

On the question of hiring standards, she is equally direct: “If an institution has hired men to coach women’s teams, then hiring a woman to coach a men’s team should be approached with the same standard. Qualifications, leadership ability, and fit for the program.”

Jamie Peterson came to Wittenberg University carrying a resume that most men’s coaches cannot match. A three-time All-American at the University of Dayton, she played professionally in Athletes Unlimited in Dallas. She has been inside the game at its highest domestic level. She knows what elite looks like from the inside, and she uses that standard to reset expectations in her program.

“We don’t want to rely on athleticism to win us matches,” Peterson said. “We focus on playing clean, error-free volleyball.”

The credibility question, in Peterson’s gym, answered itself quickly. “We are a program trying to win its first ever conference tournament championship and I have won four of them. They knew our goals aligned and were willing to try what I was asking of them.”

In February 2026, she backed that philosophy with the highest-ranked win in program history. Wittenberg defeated fifth-ranked and defending national champion Southern Virginia University 3-2 at Pam Evans Smith Arena in a match that went the distance. Senior outside hitter Eli Halverson led with 17 kills, 10 digs, and two blocks. Junior Michael Yurk and sophomore Zach Newton each added 14 kills. Southern Virginia entered the match 8-0. They left having lost.

The way some coverage framed the outcome afterward left Peterson and her program with something to prove all over again.

“The article seemed as if we won because their setter got injured,” she said. “In reality, he played every point of the match except the last five. We beat that team in more than just five points.” Her team’s response, she said, was to find confidence in the fact that people needed to invent a reason for the loss when the answer was in front of them the entire time.

Peterson also makes a point that the credibility conversation consistently misses: the tactical evolution of modern volleyball has been driven primarily by the women’s game.

“The growth, the tactics, and the most innovative new techniques come from the women’s side of the game,” she said. “This is backwards to almost every other collegiate sport, which is what makes coaching men’s volleyball a really cool opportunity for women.”

She is right. The sophistication of serve-receive systems, defensive positioning, offensive tempo, and setter decision-making that defines elite volleyball in 2026 evolved through women’s programs at the NCAA and international levels. The best coaches of men’s volleyball are, in many cases, building on a sport that women built.

Kate McCauley at Saint Vincent College (AMCC) has the most direct answer to the credibility question of anyone in this group. Her predecessor’s record with the men’s program was 2-19. Hers is 53-52 overall, with a conference championship in 2023-24 when the team went 9-0 in conference play, won Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, and hosted the championship. She was, by her own account, one of the youngest coaches in Pennsylvania history to win a state championship before she ever arrived at the college level.

She earned none of it easily.

“The phrase ‘just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I don’t understand what’s going on on the court’ came out of my mouth quite a bit,” she said of her early years with the men’s program. The turning point was not a speech. It was a scouting report. “When they heard my scouting reports for other teams and what I pointed out that they didn’t see, that was the biggest ‘aha’ moment in my career.”

Outside her gym, the resistance took a different form. “In the beginning, I was looked down upon in coaching meetings, my opinions were not heard, and I felt looked through as a competitor,” she said. “I noticed it instantly in the handshake. If they respected me, it was a normal firm handshake. If not, I got the limp wrist, ‘I feel sorry for you’ handshake.”

McCauley’s career path is worth tracing in full because it is not a straight line. She started coaching club at 18, still in college. She took over a girls high school program, reached the state playoffs in her first year as head coach, and won a state championship. She then joined a boys high school staff as an assistant, became head coach of that program for two years, before landing at Saint Vincent as an NCAA intern and assistant women’s coach. When the men’s program was launched, she served as assistant for its first year before being passed over, then was hired as head coach in the program’s third year of existence. Five years later, she holds a conference title and is unequivocal about what the experience has done to her career trajectory.

“I will be hard pressed to go back to the women’s volleyball world after this,” she said.

Her advice to the next generation of women coaches is unfiltered: “If a woman is strong enough to put her name in the hat with a strong group of men, in my eyes she has more guts than any man.”

The broader context is uncomfortable, and it should be.

Consider where women teach in America. In K-12 public schools, women hold approximately 77 percent of teaching positions. At the college level, women make up 52 percent of all faculty. Among full professors, that figure drops to 37 percent, a gap researchers have spent decades documenting as a structural problem worth solving.

Now look at the coaching numbers again.

Women hold 43 percent of head coaching positions for college women’s teams. They hold 6 percent for men’s teams. D3 men’s volleyball sits at 8.5 percent.

If America’s K-12 classrooms had only one male teacher for every eleven female teachers, the policy response would be immediate. There would be task forces, federal reports, and pointed questions about representation and development. Nobody would call 8.5 percent progress and move on.

The reason that comparison is uncomfortable is because it forces a direct question: is the resistance to women coaching men’s sports about competence, or is it about something else entirely? The coaches working in D3 men’s volleyball have already answered that question with wins, playoff appearances, scouting reports that changed what players could see, and handshakes that got firmer as the seasons accumulated.

Jen Hickey at Franciscan University came to coaching the way most grassroots coaches do, not through a pipeline but through proximity and need. A 1996 Franciscan alumna, she spent more than two decades coaching grade school, high school, and club volleyball, including national-level club work in the Cleveland area where she learned the game by absorbing everything around her rather than being handed a blueprint. The university asked her to lead the women’s program. She built a winning culture. When the athletic department decided to add men’s volleyball as a full NCAA program, they did not look far. Hickey frames what she does without any of the political language that typically surrounds this conversation.

“As coaches we are in the business of human formation,” she said. “It is about more than just volleyball.”

Micaela Sensenig at Alvernia University started coaching before most people her age had settled on a career. When her college volleyball program was cut due to budget reductions, she did not step away from the game. She began coaching as a college freshman, simultaneously working with her high school program and a club team, while also spending years developing boys club players before moving into the collegiate ranks. She knows the men’s game from the inside, and she knows what it takes to build something from nothing. Alvernia is bringing back its men’s volleyball program for the first time since 2021, and Sensenig will lead both programs.

“Effective coaching is built on knowledge, leadership, communication, and results,” she said. “Not whether the coach is a man or a woman.”

McCauley supplied the historical marker that reframes everything: “When I started coaching men’s volleyball I believe I was one of five total women at all levels in the NCAA. Seeing now that I am one of twelve in Division III is awesome.” The number has more than doubled. It is still one in twelve.

The dual-coaching model that opened doors in D3 will not automatically scale to Division I, where programs at UCLA, Long Beach State, and BYU operate with conference television contracts and national championship visibility. Those programs have their own pipelines and their own definitions of credibility that have little to do with results and much to do with inertia.

That does not mean change is impossible. It means change is slow, and slowness has costs. Every season that passes with one woman for every eleven men is a season where qualified coaches are being measured against a standard that was never written down, never justified, and never seriously challenged.

Glover has a clear picture of where this ends. “In ten years, I hope women coaching men’s sports is viewed as completely normal, just as normal as men coaching women’s teams. When that happens, the conversation will shift from gender to preparation, culture, leadership, and results. Which is exactly where it belongs.”

That is the right destination. The distance between here and there is a policy choice that keeps getting dressed up as a cultural inevitability.

D3 men’s volleyball did not become one of the most gender-diverse men’s coaching environments in college athletics because of goodwill. It became that because structural opportunity existed and qualified coaches walked through the door. The results followed. The lesson is not complicated, and it does not require a task force to understand.

One in twelve is a starting point. The court is not finished waiting.

The 12 Pioneers

Women Coaching Men’s D3 Volleyball in 2026

Jillian Glover Mount Aloysius College | AMCC

Glover’s path to coaching runs through four high schools, two WPIAL championships, shoulder surgery, an ACL reconstruction, and a Division II scholarship at Edinboro University. She transferred schools so many times as a player that adapting to new rosters and rebuilding chemistry became second nature. She still competes in the Volleyball League of America with Pittsburgh’s Steel City Surge, which means she is not drawing on old experience in her coaching. She is drawing on last weekend.

Under her leadership, Mount Aloysius reached the AMCC playoffs for the first time in program history and produced First-Team All-Conference honoree Matthew Franz and Second-Team All-Conference and Co-Student-Athlete of the Year Andrew Wlodarczyk.

“I can wear a bow in my hair, full makeup, and heels and still know exactly what I’m talking about. Knowledge is knowledge. Preparation is preparation. Leadership is leadership.”

Jamie Peterson Wittenberg University | MCVL

Three-time All-American at the University of Dayton and professional player in Athletes Unlimited. Peterson builds programs around clean, disciplined volleyball, not raw athleticism. In February 2026 she led Wittenberg to a 3-2 upset over fifth-ranked and defending national champion Southern Virginia University, the highest-ranked win in program history. SVU entered the match 8-0. Senior Eli Halverson led the Tigers with 17 kills, 10 digs, and two blocks.

“We are a program trying to win its first ever conference tournament championship and I have won four of them. They knew our goals aligned and were willing to try what I was asking of them.”

“The trend for volleyball development is based on the female side of the sport. The growth, the tactics, and the most innovative new techniques come from the women’s side of the game.”

Brittany Welch North Park University | CCIW

Division I outside hitter at Oakland University, where she earned Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors and was named Player of the Game on 19 occasions. A journalism minor, she also worked as a sideline reporter for ESPN+ during her playing career.

Promoted from assistant to head men’s coach at North Park in May 2024 after helping guide the women’s program to its first-ever CCIW title in an undefeated 2023 season. She was part of the 2024 staff that secured the men’s program’s first ranked win. Now in her second year leading the men’s program in Chicago while also serving as assistant for the women’s team.

Katie Barnett Hood College | MAC

Attended the University of Tampa at the Division II level and began coaching club and middle/high school teams. She was an assistant coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania while earning her Master’s degree. Katie was the Head Coach for Wilson’s men’s and women’s program in 2019 through 2021. She led both Hood’s men’s and women’s programs since 2022 as Head Coach while also serving as Game Day Marketing and Promotions Coordinator.

Her programs have produced steady All-Conference performers and she brings a dual administrative and coaching lens to a program she has built from the ground up.

Mickki Curtin Lehman College | CUNYAC

A 30-plus-year life member, firefighter, and EMT at the Farmingville Fire Department on Long Island. President and director of the Long Island Pride Sports Association since 2018, which works to unite LGBTQ athletes and allies through sports. Co-founded a wildlife rescue nonprofit in 1998. Has coached multiple girls programs, softball teams, and youth leagues across Long Island before arriving at Lehman.

Named 2025 CUNYAC Men’s Volleyball Coach of the Year after guiding Lehman to 16 wins, its most since 2015, with a 16-10 overall record. Her men’s team was the only conference program to defeat eventual regular-season and tournament champion Baruch College in 2025. She has led both Lehman programs since 2023 and was appointed to the NCAA Division III Regional Advisory Committee in August 2025.

Emily Butler Greenville University | Independent

Four-year setter at Greenville who helped the program reach two NCAA D3 Tournaments. After her time as an assistant coach, Butler spent four years as the head volleyball coach at Monmouth College where she led the team to its first Midwest Conference tournament appearance in nine years. Each season, the Scots won 11 or more matches, reaching a high of 15 wins in 2021. Their 2021 record of 15-14 marked the program’s first winning season since 2012.

Also serves as Senior Woman Administrator, giving her direct influence on the institution’s broader athletic direction.

Julie Allweil Maranatha Baptist University | Independent

Outside hitter and 2009 alumna at Maranatha Baptist. Has been coaching at the club and high school levels since 2005. Leads both the men’s and women’s programs with an emphasis on faith and character development, and is among the longest-tenured coaches in this group by total years in the sport.

A Watertown, Wisconsin native and 2009 Maranatha alumna, Allweil played for the women’s program before spending two decades coaching volleyball at the club level and on international mission trips to Germany, Guam, and the Cayman Islands. She succeeds Shawn Spencer as the program’s fifth head coach and also serves as an assistant for Maranatha women’s soccer. Her stated goal is straightforward: build from fundamentals and make the program sustainable as a varsity sport.

Alexis Ritson Geneva College | PAC

2017 Geneva alumna who played as a defensive specialist before building a coaching resume spanning SUNY Morrisville, Southern Arkansas, and Division I Duquesne. Named head men’s coach in May 2024, she stepped into the role just as Geneva joined the inaugural Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s volleyball season. In her first year she earned the No. 4 seed and hosted a first-round playoff match.

In addition to her collegiate experience, Ritson has also served as the boys varsity coach at nearby Beaver County Christian School, while also serving as the head coach of Infinity Volleyball Club in Ohio.

Karissa Cumberbatch Virginia Wesleyan University | ODAC

Played at the Division I level at the University of South Florida before transferring to Western State Colorado University. A three-time U.S. Junior Olympian. Led Grafton High School volleyball to the Virginia state finals in 2017 and 2018, earning Regional Coach of the Year honors three times.

Named ODAC Coach of the Year for women’s volleyball, she has guided the VWU Marlins women to back-to-back regular season titles including a perfect 12-0 conference record. Named Director of both programs when Virginia Wesleyan launched its men’s program in December 2022, she built the men’s team from zero beginning with the 2024 season.

Kate McCauley Saint Vincent College | AMCC

One of the youngest coaches in Pennsylvania history to win a state championship at the high school level. Started coaching club volleyball at 18, still in college. Took over a private school girls program, reached the state playoffs in her first year, then won a state title. Joined a boys high school staff, eventually became that program’s head coach, and later arrived at Saint Vincent as an NCAA intern and assistant women’s coach. Was passed over when the men’s program expanded, then hired as head coach in its third year of existence.

Her predecessor’s record with the men’s program was 2-19. Hers is 53-52 overall, with a conference championship in 2023-24 when the team went 9-0 in conference play. She won Coach of the Year. The program won Player of the Year. It was the first AMCC championship in Saint Vincent men’s volleyball history.

“Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I don’t understand what’s going on on the court.”

“If a woman is strong enough to put her name in the hat with a strong group of men, in my eyes she has more guts than any man.”

Micaela Sensenig Alvernia University | MAC | launching full NCAA D3 2026-27

Had her college playing career cut short when her program was eliminated due to budget reductions. Rather than walk away from the game, she began coaching as a college freshman, simultaneously assisting at her high school and with a club program. Developed a deep familiarity with the men’s game through years of boys club coaching before joining the collegiate ranks as head women’s coach at Penn State Berks. Hired to lead both Alvernia’s men’s and women’s programs as the school brings back its men’s volleyball program for the first time since 2021.

“Effective coaching is built on knowledge, leadership, communication, and results. Not whether the coach is a man or a woman.”

Jen Hickey Franciscan University | launching full NCAA D3 2026-27

A 1996 Franciscan alumna who played on the school’s early women’s team. Has spent more than 20 years coaching at the grade school, high school, and club levels, including national-level club coaching in the Cleveland area where she describes herself as a sponge who fell deeper in love with the game outside of any traditional pipeline. Led the Franciscan women’s program to a winning record before being tapped to launch the men’s program as a full NCAA program.

Her path into coaching is the classic volunteer-parent origin story that the sport quietly depends on: she showed up when no one else knew volleyball, stayed, and kept learning. Her perspective on the gender conversation is notably free of any framework.

“As coaches we are in the business of human formation. It is about more than just volleyball.”

When Kate McCauley entered men’s collegiate volleyball, she estimates she was one of five women coaching men’s programs at any level in the NCAA. The twelve coaches in D3 alone today represent more than a doubling of that number. Two programs, Alvernia and Franciscan, are adding men’s volleyball with women at the helm. The pipeline is not static. It is growing, and it is producing results.