The Penn State women’s volleyball team is in need of a new assistant coach.
Dennis Hohenshelt is leaving to become the new head coach at Virginia after six seasons on the staff of the Nittany Lion women and 10 previous years with the Penn State men.
Hohenshelt replaces Lee Maes, who resigned in November after four seasons. The Cavaliers were 10-20 last season and 4-16 in the ACC.
“I am extremely excited to become the head coach of the volleyball program at the University of Virginia,” Hohenshelt said in a statement. “In my heart I felt that it was an opportunity that I could not pass up and look forward to spending time in Charlottesville.”
Hohenshelt helped the Nittany Lion women win four straight NCAA championships as the team compiled a 199-18 record while on the staff. He also mentored the program’s front-row players.
“He’ll do a great job at a terrific university with all the chips to succeed,” Penn State head coach Russ Rose said in an email Sunday.
Hohenshelt is a 1993 Juniata College graduate, where he played, was an assistant for two seasons and a head coach for one with the men. He then joined the Nittany Lion men, helping them maintain a program ranked annually among the nation’s best, including a trip to the 2006 national championship.
“It’s about time,” Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said. “He was more than ready. A lot of people don’t realize he was a head coach for a year before he joined me, so he had an idea of what it would be like in the captain’s chair. Working with Russ, working with us, he now has an idea what it would be like and he has very clear thoughts on what it would be like to do this job.”
With Kaleena Davidson the only remaining assistant coach, the departure leaves a hole for Rose to fill during a heavy recruiting period for the sport.
“I’ll work on finding his replacement with human resources,” Rose said, “and recognize that it will be tough as Dennis has been a loyal employee with the volleyball programs for sixteen seasons.”
Gordon Brunskill can be reached at 231-4608.
