A former NAIA National Player of the Year, and 17 year coaching veteran at Missouri, Deng Yang, has been named the head indoor volleyball coach at Stetson University.
Yang has spent the past 17 seasons as an assistant coach with Missouri, leading the Tigers to two SEC Championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, an Elite Eight run in 2005 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2016.
In 2016, Yang helped the Tigers to a 27-6 record and the teams second SEC Championship in the past four seasons. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the 15 seed, defeating Northern Illinois and Purdue to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2010. Missouri finished the season ranked #16.
“I would like to thank Athletic Director Jeff Altier and Senior Associate Athletic Director Alicia Queally for giving me the opportunity to lead the Stetson indoor volleyball program,” Yang said. “I am honored and very excited to help the program find its identity and build a winning tradition. I’m so looking forward to getting to know the players and staff. I’m confident that we are going to build strong relationships and work hard together to move the program forward.”
Yang worked mainly with the setters and hitters, and in all, 12 of Yang’s student-athletes earned a total of 19 AVCA All-America honors.
Yang moved to the United States from China in 1998 to play two seasons for the Columbia College women’s volleyball team as a right side in 1998 and a setter in 1999, where she led them to two NAIA national championship titles. In 1999 she was named the AVCA/NAIA National Player of the Year and the MVP of the NAIA national tournament.
A native of Chang Zhou, China, Yang competed three years for the Chinese Junior National team and one year with the Chinese Women’s National Team. In 1995, Team China won the World Grand Prix Championship and too the bronze medal at the World Cup.
Yang graduated from Columbia in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Currently, she is working on a Masters of Educations and School Counseling Psychology from Missouri.
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