After 16 seasons as head coach for the volleyball team, Lindsey Devine has been named head coach to the University of Alabama.
ETSU women’s volleyball now welcomes new head coach Benavia Jenkins into the 2019-20 season.
“Coach Devine implemented so many great things into us as individuals and volleyball players,” said junior Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tennessee). “She stressed that everything you do on the court affects your teammates, from communication to holding each other accountable.”
During her stay at ETSU, Devine compiled the most victories as a coach in program history, gained her 250th win in September and led the Bucs to their second NCAA tournament appearance in 2017.
Jenkins will now be the seventh head coach to join the program. She has spent the past three seasons with the University of South Florida as assistant coach. Prior to USF, Jenkins was assistant coach at Coastal Carolina and Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, and was the head coach at Lincoln Park Academy.
“I’m hoping she brings her diverse knowledge of volleyball, and is able to coach each of us players and mold us into the best versions of ourselves,” said Massey. “Since she has played in so many places, she maybe understands different styles of play and different outlooks.”
Jenkins played professionally in Spain, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland and Florida. Her accomplishments include winning the Austria Cup with Vienna, being a Swiss Cup finalist and finishing in the top 10 in Spain for blocking and attacking.
In Jenkin’s first season at USF, the Bulls displayed an eight-win improvement from the previous years and totaled 19 victories. In her time spent with Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers went 29-5 overall, 14-0 in the Big South and went to the NCAA tournament.
“I think this change will be good for us as a team,” said Massey. “We are ready to work hard for her as she has already expressed that she is ready to do the same for us.”
