Kayla Banwarth Hired As Nebraska Assistant Coach

The University of Nebraska has hired former national team libero Kayla Banwarth as the new assistant women's volleyball coach.

Jan 9, 2017 by Megan Kaplon

Kayla Banwarth Hired As Nebraska Assistant Coach

After the hiring of Dani Busboom-Kelly as Louisville's new head coach in late November, an assistant coaching position opened up at women's volleyball powerhouse Nebraska.

On Monday, the Huskers announced that the opening has been filled by former Nebraska and U.S. national team libero Kayla Banwarth.

Banwarth walked onto the Nebraska squad in 2007, winning the starting libero spot partway through her freshman season. By the time she graduated in 2010, Banwarth had set a new career digs record.

She went on to become the starting libero for the U.S. women's national team, helping the United States win an unprecedented gold medal at the 2014 World Championships and a bronze at the Rio Olympics.

"Whenever I have a chance to hire a former player to coach at Nebraska volleyball, it's something I strongly consider, because they understand what this program is about," Nebraska head coach John Cook said.

Banwarth began her coaching career at Pepperdine, where she served as a volunteer assistant for the men's team the past two seasons.

"I really like the fact that while Kayla was training with the U.S. national team, she found the time to volunteer coach for the Pepperdine men's volleyball team," Cook said. "So not only did she play at Nebraska and for Team USA, she gained experience under Karch Kiraly and Marv Dunphy, two of the best coaches in the United States."