Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State volleyball coach Riley Jarrett has been named an American Volleyball Coaches Association's Thirty Under 30 College Award recipient as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the profession.
The AVCA announced three groups of recipients — College, Club and Beach — of its Thirty Under 30 Awards program on Wednesday. The recipients serve in a range of roles, from head coach to volunteer assistant to club director*.*
"I am very honored to receive this award from the AVCA!" Jarrett said. "I am so thankful for everyone who has been a part of my coaching journey that has helped lead me to this point, and I look forward to all of the great student-athletes I will continue to get to work with."
Jarrett is in her first season at Youngstown State after serving as the head coach at Division II West Liberty for four seasons. She left WLU with the highest career winning percentage of any coach in the program's history, and the Hilltoppers had at least 20 wins in each of her last three seasons. Jarrett led West Liberty to the first two NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
Among Jarrett's highlights at YSU, the Penguins had their first sweep of Kent State in 43 years in their home opener. Youngstown State then swept Mercyhurst four days later to record back-to-back home sweeps for the first time since 2000.
Individually, junior outside hitter Abbie Householder is having the best season of her career with Jarrett at the helm. Householder ranks second in the Horizon League in both kills (3.99) and points (4.59) per set. Two fifth-year players also reached career milestones as libero Nyia Setla recorded her 2,500th career dig, and setter Isabel Schaefbauer registered her 2,000th assist.
Jarrett was previously a graduate assistant at West Liberty from 2018-20, and she was an assistant men's and women's coach at Penn State Behrend before becoming WLU's head coach.
Q&A with AVCA
What made you decide to get into coaching volleyball? I played volleyball from a very young age, then played college volleyball and knew I could ever be away from the game. I value the title coach and am so happy to get to do what I love every day!
What are your career goals in the sport? My career goals are to continue to build a successful program that has a strong family culture, a positive and competitive drive, and one that players are proud to be a part of. I strive to have a winning program that succeeds on and off the court. I want to continue to be a leader that people can look up to.
Which coaches have influenced you the most? I have had many great mentors throughout my career including my high school volleyball coach Laurie Cogan, college coaches Melissa Mahnke and Leigh Ann Swartz, as well as working with and learning from Kayla Mull. All were able to teach and show me different aspects of coaching on and off the court.
What do you enjoy most about your coaching job?
The relationships that are made with everyone in college volleyball is what I value. I am very passionate about sharing my knowledge and experiences with my student-athletes and seeing them grow as young women on and off the court. I have been blessed to meet and work with so many talented young women who share my passion to succeed on the court and in the classroom. I also enjoy keeping a competitive spirit day in and day out with competing to be the best we can be.
