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News Release
Jenni Hirneisen Joins UMBC Volleyball Staff
2/16/2012
 Head Coach Ian Blanchard has hired Jenni Hirneisen as his new assistant coach |
BALTIMORE, MD. - UMBC volleyball coach Ian Blanchard announced that Jenni Hirneisen will join the Retriever staff as an assistant coach, effective immediately. Hirneisen will fill the position vacated by Sara Warner who left the program last month.
Hirneisen comes to UMBC after spending three seasons at her alma mater, Colorado State, in addition to assisting the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team as an assistant technical director.
“We’re very fortunate to have someone of Jenni’s caliber and work ethic join us at UMBC,” said Blanchard. “Her energy and drive will help our team improve and help me to become a better coach.”
During her time with the national team, Hirneisen, a Colorado native, traveled with the squad to multiple tournaments, including last year’s Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico where the Americans won the bronze medal. As the assistant technical director, she assisted with all aspects of technical scouting and breakdown, specializing in video and statistical analysis.
“Jenni is a very talented young coach with a very bright future,” said national team coach Hugh McCutcheon. “She knows the game, she’s very good at interacting with her players and she is a very strong communicator.”
Hirneisen began her time with the national team in the spring of 2010 as an intern. Through her hard work, she was asked to remain with the program and then was promoted to the position of assistant technical director.
“She has a very strong set of both qualitative and quantitative skills,” added McCutcheon. “Combined with all of her volleyball experiences, she adds a lot of value to UMBC’s program.”
In addition to her time with the USA squad, Hirneisen was an assistant coach at Colorado State under coach Tom Hilbert. After working as an undergraduate assistant during the fall of 2008 and 2009, she was promoted to interim assistant coach at her alma mater the following year. During her coaching tenure in Fort Collins, the Rams went 74-18 overall while winning the Mountain West Conference twice, and advancing to the NCAA Regional Semifinals (3rd round) once (2009) and the tournament second round twice (2008 and 2010).
“Coach Hilbert really taught me a lot about how to run a program,” Hirneisen said. “That’s where I really learned that there are different ways to approach and solve the same problem.”
Hirneisen broke into coaching in the high school ranks following her college career.
As a defensive specialist for Colorado State, Hirneisen helped lead the Rams to the Mountain West Championship her senior year in 2006. In addition, she helped her junior-college team, Northeastern, earn a national ranking of 11 in 2004.
Hirneisen graduated from Colorado State in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science.