Ben Rodeffer is entering his second season as an assistant coachat Youngstown State with head coach Krista Burrows.
Rodeffer came to YSU with seven years of previous ofcollegiate coaching experience. He spent five years at HiramCollege, a year at Michigan State and another at Miami (Ohio) invarious capacities.
"I am excited that Ben has joined our coaching staff," Burrowssaid. "He is a tremendous trainer in the gym, and he knows what ittakes to be successful. Ben has the personality that will push ourstudent-athletes, both mentally and physically."
"His tenacity for recruiting and having a great eye for talentwill allow our program to move in the right direction quickly. Benis an immediate asset to this program, and I am delighted that heis a Penguin."
In his short time at YSU with Burrows, young players have shownthe potential to be top-tier players in the Horizon League. WithRodeffer's efforts on the recruiting trail, the roster has alreadybeen completely reshaped. The addition of eight newcomers toa young squad that continued to develop throughout the springhas Rodeffer and Burrows optimistic for growth in their secondseason on the bench.
Freshman outside hitter Marissa Hundelt led the Penguins in 2010with 198 kills, 2.30 kills per set and 227 points. She became justthe third freshman in 18 years to lead the squad in kills. Hundeltwas also solid in the back row as she ranked third on the team indigs.
Fellow freshman Jenna Cavanaugh was the Penguins' top blocker.She recorded 78 total blocks, and her average of 0.98 blocks perset ranked seventh in the Horizon League. Only one other freshmanin the conference averaged more blocks per set.
Junior transfer Brianna Kern got better as the season went on,and she ended the campaign as the starting libero. She averaged ateam-high 3.31 digs in Horizon League play, which ranked ninth inthe conference.
Rodeffer spent the last four seasons at Hiram College, helpingto lead the Terriers to a 103-38 mark during that span. Hiramadvanced to the NCAA Tournament twice, eclipsed 23 wins three timesand had 12 All-North Coast Athletic Conference selections withRodeffer on the staff. Rodeffer also coached two All-Americaselections and four all-region picks. In addition to his volleyballduties of evaluating recruits and supervising technical on-courttraining, Rodeffer served as the office manager of the athleticdepartment. Rodeffer also assisted at Hiram during the 2003 seasonwhen the Terriers went 27-8.
Prior to his first arrival at Hiram, Rodeffer was a volunteerassistant in 2002 at Miami (Ohio), where he was active in practiceoperation and video editing. He was a staff assistant at MichiganState during the 2004 season, coordinating statistics and editingvideo.
Rodeffer worked in fitness facilities from in 2005 and 2006,including serving as the facility manager at The Netz in Richland,Mich.
Rodeffer was a student manager at Maryland while attending theschool in 2001. Rodeffer also attended Michigan State, and hecompleted his degree requirements at Hiram in politicalscience.
