Riley Jarrett - Head Volleyball Coach - Volleyball Coaches (2024)

Riley Jarrett, an energetic and passionate young coach who has spent her entire volleyball career in the region, is the 11th head coach of the Youngstown State University volleyball program. YSU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo announced Jarrett's hiring on April 9, 2024.

A native of Lorain, Ohio, Jarrett came to Youngstown after spending the previous four seasons running a successful Division II program at West Liberty University in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

"I am thrilled and honored to be the next head coach at Youngstown State University," Jarrett said. "The amountof investment and support that is poured into YSU Athletics is something that I am proud to be a part of. I want to thank the entire administration at YSU for their trust in me and allowing me this amazing opportunity. I feel confident and ready for this opportunityto lead our YSU volleyball program to new heights. We will work hard day in and day out toinstill a positive and winning culture. I can't wait to see what the future holds andam very excited to get towork with thestrong young women inour program! Go Penguins!"

Strollo said Jarrett possesses the traits YSU sought in its next head volleyball coach.

"In Riley, we found someone who brings the energy and love for the game that our student-athletes want and need to move this program in the competitive direction that we all desire," Strollo said. "She has successful head coaching experience at West Liberty, and she also has ties to the region even before her coaching career, being born and raised near Cleveland and playing at Mount Union. We're excited about our future with Riley leading our program."

Jarrett led West Liberty to its highest prominence at the Division II level as its head coach from 2020-23, and she leaves WLU with the highest career winning percentage of any coach in program history. The Hilltoppers won more than 64% of their matches with Jarrett at the helm, and they won 65 contests over the last three seasons. Her tenure at WLU ended with the Hilltoppers making their first two appearances in program history at the NCAA Division II Tournament, and the team appeared in all nine sets of regional rankings over the last three seasons.

In 2023, West Liberty went 23-10 to secure its third straight 20-win season under Jarrett's leadership and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The 23 victories tied for the fourth-most in program history, and the Hilltoppers won nine out of 11 matches heading into the semifinals of the Mountain East Conference Tournament.

Jarrett's 2022 squad took a step forward as the team made the first postseason appearance in program history at the Atlantic Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Hilltoppers went 10-6 in MEC play for the second straight season, and they reached double-digits in conference victories in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. That streak extended to three in 2023 as WLU was 10-4 against conference opponents.

WLU went 21-13 in 2021 and tied for second in the North Division of the MEC. The Hilltoppers began their trend of being among the top teams in the Atlantic Region as they were ranked as high as ninth during the season, and they surpassed that ranking in both 2022 and 2023. That 2021 fall campaign came after WLU was 7-4 during the spring in Jarrett's first season that was shifted due to the pandemic.

Individually, Jarrett coached the only two NCAA Division II All-Americans in West Liberty history. Nyia Setla was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2023 and a Third-Team All-American by the D2CCA in 2022. Madison Clayton was an Honorable Mention All-American by both organizations in 2021. Setla was named the Mountain East Conference Libero of the Year in each of the last two seasons. Jarrett's recruiting efforts were notable as West Liberty had a freshman honored on the all-conference freshman team each season.

Jarrett's first two years of her coaching career were at West Liberty in a graduate assistant role under Kayla Mull. In Jarrett's initial season on the hilltop with Mull, West Liberty went 24-10 and received a regional ranking for the first time in program history and finished second in the Mountain East Conference standings.

Between her stops at West Liberty, Jarrett spent seven months as the lead assistant coach for the women's and men's volleyball programs at Penn State-Behrend. The men's team was off to an 11-6 start when the season ended early in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was hired at PSU-Behrend in February 2020, and she took the head coaching opportunity at West Liberty that September when Mull stepped down.

Jarrett was a four-year starter and a two-time all-conference honoree as a setter at Division III Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio. She ended her career for the Purple Raiders ranking among the program's top 10 in career hitting percentage, career assists, and career assists per set. During her senior season, she registered 917 assists, posted two triple-doubles, and was named All-Ohio Athletic Conference First Team and AVCA Great Lakes All-Region Honorable Mention. While she was an undergraduate student, she served as the Head Volleyball Coach for the 15-year-old Junior Olympic Team at the Tri-State Volleyball Academy.

Jarrett graduated from Mount Union in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in sport business with a double minor in business administration and psychology. She earned her Master's of Education sports leadership and coaching from West Liberty in 2020.