Volleyball Hires Stephanie Preach as Assistant Coach

Posted: Jan 30, 2017

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara volleyball has hired former Arizona State standout libero Stephanie Preach as an assistant coach, head coach Jon Wallace announced Tuesday. Preach joins the Broncos after spending the 2016 season as director of volleyball operations at Arkansas.

Her primary responsibilities with Santa Clara will include serving as recruiting coordinator as well as working with passers and liberos.

"Stephanie is an intelligent, hard-working person with incredible morals and ethics that will represent Santa Clara and our volleyball program very well," Wallace said. "Having played at a high level, she brings in a lot of experience that will help our young team grow. Her high energy and outgoing personality are excellent qualities that are valuable for us in the recruiting process."

"It is with incredible excitement and enthusiasm that I join the Santa Clara Volleyball program," Preach said. "Coach Wallace and the staff as well as the highly talented group of student-athletes of this remarkable university will allow me to wake up with excitement and ambition to help steer this successful and prestigious program to the next level. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continued success in the future for the Broncos."

Prior to working at Arkansas, Preach spent two years as the on-campus football recruiting coordinator for her alma mater Sun Devils. Her coaching experience includes six seasons with the Arizona Storm Volleyball Club (2010-16), including four as a head coach. She coached 16s, 17s and 18s during that span.

The Phoenix native and Xavier College Prep product played for current Arkansas head coach Jason Watson and served as team captain during her time in Tempe from 2010-13. Her accolades at Arizona State include finishing second in program history with 2,010 digs, helping the team reach the NCAA Tournament during her junior and senior seasons (2012-13), and earning two Pac-12 All-Academic honors (2011-12).

Preach tallied 619 digs in 2012 and 610 digs in 2011 for the fourth-highest and fifth-highest dig totals in single-season program history, respectively. She led the Sun Devils in digs for three straight seasons (2011-13) and topped the team in aces twice (2011, 2013).

Following her senior campaign, Preach received the Pac-12's Tom Hansen Medal of Honor, which "is awarded annually to each member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership," according to the conference website. She received a bachelor's degree in communication with a minor in psychology in 2013. One year later, she graduated from ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business with a master's in business management.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Stephanie and wonderful hire for Santa Clara," Watson said. " I believe she will work relentlessly to make the student-athlete experience at Santa Clara one of the finest in the West Coast Conference. Her personality and enthusiasm for the game will be an asset in recruiting. While I'm sorry we no longer work side-by-side, I know she's ready to impact the lives of the athletes at Santa Clara."

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