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Gibbs named Augsburg volleyball coach
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jane Gibbs, who led a dramatic turnaround of the
Luther College (Iowa) volleyball program during the last three
seasons, has been named the new head coach of the Augsburg College
volleyball team, the college announced on Friday.
In three seasons as head coach at Luther, Gibbs turned around a
program that had won just three matches in each of the two seasons
prior to her arrival, leading the Norse to their first-ever NCAA
Division III national tournament berth in 2009. The Iowa
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year in
2009, Gibbs is 60-42 as a collegiate head coach.
Gibbs will replace Jessica Rinehart, who resigned from her Augsburg
post in December to take over the program at Division II Northwest
Missouri State. Rinehart had served as Augsburg’s head coach
for five seasons.
“Jane Gibbs brings great excitement to the Augsburg
volleyball program. Her record speaks for itself and is nothing
short of phenomenal,” said Augsburg athletic director Jeff
Swenson. “Jane is a perfect fit for Augsburg College and
Auggie athletics. We look forward to Jane taking our volleyball
program from a playoff team to a conference and national
championship contender.”
Gibbs is returning to her Minnesota roots with her new position at
Augsburg. A native of Lakeville, Minn., she was a two-time American
Volleyball Coaches Association Division III All-American (2002,
2003) as a setter at the University of St. Thomas, earning
All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors each of
her four seasons (2000-03). She was named MIAC Player of the Year
in 2003, and set four school records for assists during her tenure.
Teams she played on finished 97-31 in her career, winning MIAC
regular-season titles in 2002 and 2003.
“I am very excited to accept the head volleyball coach
position at Augsburg College,” Gibbs said. “Throughout
the hiring process, the athletic department, volleyball team and
other faculty and staff members immediately made me feel at home.
With their support, I intend to build upon a winning tradition that
coach Rinehart has established over the last five
seasons.”
As head coach at Luther, Gibbs took over a team that had finished
3-29 in 2005 and 3-27 in 2006, and her hiring immediately paid
dividends. The Norse finished 15-15 in 2007, improving three spots
in the IIAC standings. The following year, her squad finished
19-15, finishing fourth in the IIAC standings and qualifying for
the conference tournament for the first time since the postseason
meet had changed to a six-team format in 2005.
In 2009, the Norse had one of their best seasons in school history,
finishing 26-12 overall -- the school’s best record since
1993 -- while finishing second in the IIAC and advancing to the
NCAA Division III national tournament for the first time in school
history. In the national tournament, the Norse opened with an upset
win over No. 15-ranked St. Benedict before falling to her alma
mater, St. Thomas, in the second round.
After graduating from St. Thomas in 2004, Gibbs served as an
assistant coach at Division I Gardner-Webb (N.C.) for two seasons,
and was an assistant coach at Division III Wisconsin-River Falls in
the 2006 season. While at Gardner-Webb, she also served as owner,
director and coach of the Black Bear Volleyball Club, a youth
volleyball club. She currently serves as owner, director and coach
of All Love Volleyball, Inc., based in St. Paul, Minn.
Gibbs earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and Spanish
from St. Thomas in 2004, and her master’s degree in sport
science and pedagogy from Gardner-Webb in 2006.
