Albion Tabs Slamer To Lead Women's Volleyball Program

A three-year starter and captain at Albion College who served as the assistant coach at Northern Michigan University for two seasons and has served as the head coach at Loy Norrix High School and as the regional team director for USA Michigan Volleyball since 2009 has been named to take over the Britons’ volleyball program. Athletic Director Matt Arend announced Monday, Feb. 20 the appointment of Kristin Slamer as head volleyball coach.

“I was impressed by Kristin’s maturity and her passion for Albion College in general and the volleyball program specifically,” Arend said. “Kristin is respected by veteran coaches in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and I am eager to see the volleyball program thrive under her leadership.”

A 2007 Albion graduate with a degree in K-12 Physical Education and Secondary Health education (also pursuing master’s degree in Educational Leadership), Slamer tallied 27 kills in a 2004 contest against Tri-State which stood as the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association record for a four-set match. An honorable mention all-MIAA pick in 2006, she posted 985 digs in her career which is believed to be the school record.

Slamer was the assistant coach for Northern Michigan teams that posted 20-win seasons in 2007 and 2008, participated in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II tournaments, held national rankings, and had one American Volleyball Coaches Assocation national player of the week. In addition to her assistant coaching duties, Slamer ran high school camps and clinics, held recruiting and scouting responsibilities, was responsible for monitoring academic progress of student-athletes, facilitated and monitored athletes strength and conditioning, coordinated team travel, and served as an instructor in the health, physical education and recreation department.

She moved to the Kalamazoo area as a health teacher and head coach at Loy Norrix. Not only did she double the school’s wins with a nearly 20-win season in her second year but also led the program to one of the highest GPAs among all teams at the school. Slamer had four athletes receive all-Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference recognition, arguably one of the toughest Class A conferences in the state. Slamer worked to develop an entire K-12 program partnering with USA Michigan Volleyball to reach even the youngest student-athletes.  Slamer is very honored to take on the Briton volleyball program.

“It is a great privilege to work for such a great institution,” Slamer said. “To come back and work for your alma mater is the dream of many coaches. The expectations academically and athletically are very high. There is great potential in this program and the returning group of young women. I want to hit the ground running focusing on being fundamentally sound, training at a high level, and bringing in a great recruiting class. The MIAA is a great volleyball conference with great players and coaches, and I welcome the challenge.”