Jessica Fey
Head Coach
Fey (pronounced 'Fie') comes to Missouri Western from Western Colorado University, an NCAA Division II institution from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, where she spent four seasons as head coach. Previously, she served four seasons as an assistant coach for Washburn University.
Fey took over a Western Colorado program in 2018 that won just two matches the previous season and has just six winning seasons in its 41-year history. The decade of the 2010's saw the Mountaineers post a 1-26 season in 2013, a 2-20 season in 2014 and a 2-25 record in 2017. Fey helped bring the program back to respectability, increasing the team's winning percentage in each of her four years at the helm. In 2021, she led the Mountaineers to a 13-14 record, the program's third-highest single-season wins total in nearly two decades. WCU is also coming off back-to-back RMAC tournament appearances after a previous five-year absence.
"I am honored to be the next leader of the Missouri Western volleyball program," Fey said. "I would like to thank Theresa Grosbach, Eric Kramer and the rest of the search committee for their confidence in me to lead this program to success. I'm extremely excited to get started with the team as we pursue excellence on and off the court."
The new Griffon head coach is no stranger to her new team.
The Crete, Nebraska native graduated from Washburn in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology while playing for the Ichabods from 2009 to 2012. She was a Daktronics First Team All-American in 2012 while earning All-American Honorable Mention recognition from the AVCA in 2011 and 2012. She was a three-time AVCA All-Region First Team selection and was the MIAA and Daktronics Central Region Player of the Year in 2012.
As a player, Fey posted a career .322 attack percentage in four years at Washburn - fourth highest in school history, and is one of 10 Ichabods to record over 1,000 kills and 300 blocks in a career. She became the 16th member of Washburn's 1,000 kill club on Oct. 16, 2012, and closed her career with 1,211 kills and 342 blocks.
Part of two MIAA championship teams, Fey and the Ichabods earned an NCAA Tournament appearance every season while being ranked in the top 10 of the AVCA poll in all but one week during her four-year career
As an assistant at Washburn from 2014-17, Fey primarily worked with hitters and assisted in recruiting. The Ichabods posted a 98-33 overall record during her four-year stint on the sidelines.