Gretchen Killebrew, one of the top setters in the history of University of Washington volleyball and a solid coach over the past few years, has been added to the staff of the Seattle University volleyball program as an assistant coach, announced recently by head coach Shannon Ellis.
Last year Killebrew was an assistant coach at Washington State University. Before that, she served as an assistant coach at Seattle Pacific in the 2006 season, helping the Falcons to a 24-3 overall record and the GNAC title. In 2005, Killebrew was the head coach at Bellevue Community College, guiding the team to a 25-8 overall record, including an 11-1 record within the region.
Killebrew, then known as Gretchen Maurer, played for the University of Washington from 1999 to 2002, finishing with 3,190 assists, presently third all-time in Husky volleyball history. As captain of the 2002 squad, she helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, earning first team All-Pac-10 and honorable mention All-Pacific Region honors along the way. She earned her bachelor’s degree in international studies with a minor in music from Washington in 2003.
After graduation, Killebrew played professional volleyball for the team based in Maia, Portugal, where as the starting setter she helped the team win the Portuguese Cup and finish eighth at the European Cup. She also has experience as a club volleyball coach, spending one year with the Kent Junior Volleyball Club (2003) and two years with the Juanita Volleyball Club (2004-05).
"Gretchen is an accomplished coach and player and brings a wealth of competitive experience with her. Her expertise, her integrity, and her passion will have a tremendous impact on our program. She has seen nearly all of our 2008 opponents, so she knows what we need to do to be competitive. I know I speak for our entire staff when I say we are very excited to work with her in the coming season," Ellis said.
Killebrew joins a staff that includes fifth-year head coach Ellis, former Wyoming assistant coach Teron Uy, volunteer assistant coach Hue Ong, and director of volleyball operations Jonathan Killingbeck. The Seattle University volleyball team will open practice for the 2008 season Saturday, August 9, with the first match coming Friday, August 29 at Boise State beginning at 7 p.m. local time.