Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Volleyball Coach / Director of Operations
- Email:
- Alma Mater:
- Hiram, 2018
- Experience:
- Second Season
Grace Wilson joined the Youngstown State volleyball program as an assistant coach in 2024 on head coach Riley Jarrett's first staff. Wilson received a promotion in February 2026 to the role of assistant coach and director of operations.
Wilson is a native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she arrived in Youngstown after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Cedarville University in Southwest Ohio.
In 2025, YSU won a school-record 11 Horizon League matches, improved its win total by eight compared with 2024, and advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. YSU had the second-largest win improvement in the Horizon League, and only 23 teams in the country improved their win total by more heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Penguins had their highest seed ever at the conference tournament, significantly overachieving according to the Horizon League preseason poll, which pegged YSU to finish 10th.
The Penguins had their best offense since 25-point rally scoring was instituted in 2008. YSU set a new program record in the current era with 1,555 kills, and they also set records with 13.07 kills per set overall and 13.58 kills per set in Horizon League play. YSU posted a .247 attack percentage, which was the second-best mark in program history regardless of format, and shattered the previous program record in Horizon League play by hitting .255.
Individually, outside hitter Abbie Householder was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the third Penguin to earn a conference player-of-the-year honor. Right-side hitter Gabriela Machin joined Householder on the All-Horizon League first team, and Kameron Blizniak and Layne Graffice were named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.
In YSU’s first season of Jarrett’s coaching era, the Penguins showed potential for the future with several notable performances at both the team and individual levels. YSU won four of its final six non-conference matches in 2024, which included its first sweep of Kent State in 43 years, and began November by winning six straight sets against Oakland at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center to celebrate Senior Weekend.
Youngstown State registered 17.28 digs per set during the season, which ranked second in the Horizon League and 16th in the country in 2024.
Individually, Householder took a big leap forward in her development and was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team. Householder ranked second in the conference in both kills and points per set in 2024, and she was the only player in the conference to rank among the top 12 in both kills and digs per set.
Before her time in Youngstown, Wilson helped Cedarville earn a spot in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament in 2023. Outside hitter Madelyn Hensley had a standout season, being named the G-MAC Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference as she averaged 3.61 kills per set while hitting .283. She went on to be named the NCCAA Midwest Region Player of the Year, the AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year and a First-Team All-American. The Lady Jackets also competed in the G-MAC Tournament in 2022.
Wilson was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons in the volleyball program at Division III Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. Three Rose-Hulman players were named to the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference first team in her two seasons, and Wilson also coached the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Before her college coaching career, Wilson previously coached the IGNITE Volleyball Club 13s in Twinsburg, Ohio, for two seasons. She also served as the seventh-grade girls volleyball coach in her hometown at Chagrin Falls (Ohio) Middle School in 2018.
Wilson began her collegiate playing career at Lakeland Community College from 2014-16 and moved on to Hiram College for her final two seasons.
Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Hiram in 2018 and a master’s in sport management from Indiana State University in 2021.
