MENOMONIE (November 7, 2013) – After 21 seasons,
Jill Jolliff will step down as the UW-Stout head volleyball coach.
Jolliff is the longest tenured coach in Blue Devil volleyball history and assembled a 363-319 overall record, a mark that puts her seventh on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) all-time volleyball coaches list. Only women's basketball coach
Mark Thomas has been the head coach of a women's program for a longer period of time at UW-Stout.
During Jolliff's tenure, which began in 1993, the Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship Tournament three times, posted eight 20-plus wins seasons, and 14-times have had overall records at or above .500.
The Blue Devils finished in a tie for first in what was then the WWIAC in 1994 when the team put together a 33-6 overall record and went 7-1 in league play, a season Jolliff was selected as the WWIAC Coach of the Year.
In 2004, the Blue Devils, after finishing second in the WIAC, marched through the conference tournament, dropping only one set during the three matches on their way to winning the tournament title and receiving their third NCAA Division III tournament bid. The 2004 team finished with a 31-5 overall record.
Jolliff coached four Blue Devil volleyball players to All-America honors - Erika Olmstead, Stacy Stoddard, Brooke Viegut and Tanille Zenner-Hartwig, who was a two-time All-American and the National Freshman of the Year in 2002.
The Blue Devils, as a team , also earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Excellence Award six times under Jolliff.
Originally from Ohio, Jolliff played her college volleyball at Ohio Northern University and was enshrined in the ONU Hall of Fame in January, 2001.
If hadn't been for one of her high school friends sister, Jolliff may not have made her way to Menomonie and UW-Stout.
After serving two years as an assistant coach at Ohio Northern, Jolliff learned of an opening for a head volleyball coach at Ripon College. Jolliff called Julie Lenhart, who was then the head softball coach at UW-Platteville to see what she knew about Ripon. Lenhart mentioned the volleyball position at Stout was available.
The rest is history.
"I didn't come into this job thinking it would just be a pitstop or that it would be my entire career," Jolliff said. "At times I thought it would be nice to be closer to family. But I have always liked the area and I have always liked competing in this conference."
"Twenty years, that's a long time," said UW-Stout athletic director
Duey Naatz, who has been in the athletic department throughout Jolliff's entire Stout career. "We appreciate Jill's commitment to the volleyball program and to the Stout community as a whole. She is a quality coach and a quality person. On behalf of the entire athletic department, I would like to thank Jill for all she has done."
"I will miss the everyday contact with the student-athletes and seeing them develop," Jolliff said. "I will miss the relationships with my colleagues, the students and the community."
At the moment, Jolliff is not certain what her future has in store. Her partner, Penni Bostelman accepted a position with a YMCA in eastern Indiana. The town is an hour away from several different universities, where Jolliff may test the waters, and will be considerably closer to both families, giving their daughter, Autumn, more opportunities with family members.
In addition to coaching volleyball, Jolliff was an instructor in the physical education department, served five years as the assistant softball coach and most recently, has been the senior women's administrator and assistant athletic director in charge of compliance.
The University intends to have a coach in place by the time the spring practice season begins.
