Valerie Jones is back for her fourth year as the head coach of the Owls volleyball program. After spending her first year on the job recruiting, Jones has coached the first two full seasons of Kennesaw State volleyball in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Owls have grown as a program and have shown marked improvement on the court in the second season. KSU won four matches in 2007, including winning in A-Sun play on the road and at home for the first time in program history.

In 2006, Jones coached her players to two awards and also had a player finish in the top ten in the Atlantic Sun Conference in assists per game. Ginny Frederick was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman team and Jenny Black was named to the All-Tournament team at the Catamount Clash hosted by Western Carolina University. Tara Dillon finished the season ranked tenth in the A-Sun conference in assists per game.

During the inaugural campaign, Jones led the Owls to their first ever win by sweeping Providence in three games in the final match of the Chesapeake Challenge in Baltimore, Md. The Owls fought hard in all of their matches, but finished the season with a 1-21 overall and 0-9 conference record.

Coach Jones joined the KSU staff after a successful three-year stint as the head coach of Joliet Junior College where she also served as the women's athletic coordinator and the women's softball assistant coach.

Under Jones, the Wolves had a two-year combined record of 44-36 for a .550 winning percentage. She enjoyed post-season success as she led the Wolves to back-to-back berths in the Region IV championship match.

With Jones at the helm for her second season, the 2003 Wolves finished the year with an overall record of 25-17. In addition, her team captured a second-place finish in the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) and finished as runner-ups in Region IV.

In her first year, Jones guided JJC to a .500 record with a 19-19 mark while leading Joliet to a berth in the Region IV title match.

Prior to arriving at Joliet, Jones was the assistant volleyball coach at Northwestern University from 2000-02. She also coached summer camps, recruited, handled spring scheduling, and served as the community service liaison.

Jones served as an assistant coach at the University of California, Davis in 1999 where she trained setters and outside hitters. She was also the recruiting coordinator, spring conditioning coach, and assisted in all facets of training for the Aggies.

Prior to UC-Davis, Jones was hired as an assistant volleyball coach at Utah State in 1988 where she coordinated various volleyball camps and clinics. Following the retirement of head coach Ginny Alexander in March of 1999, she was named interim head coach.

From 1996-98, Jones was a graduate assistant at the University of North Dakota where her primary responsibilities were recruiting and training of setters and middles. In November 1997, Jones was named the acting head coach through the 1998 season.

She began her coaching career in 1995 at the Academy of Holy Names in Tampa, Fla. She served as the head coach of the junior varsity girls' volleyball team and as an assistant coach for the varsity girls' volleyball team.

Jones played volleyball for two seasons at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Ill., Along with numerous other awards, she was named "Female Athlete of the Year" and was the runner-up for the Skyway Conference Most Valuable Player award as a sophomore.

In 1993, Jones transferred to the University of Tampa in Florida, where she played volleyball for two seasons. In 1994, she was chosen to the All-Sunshine State Conference team and the All-Region team. That same year she was a second-team All-American.

Jones earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa in 1995, where she majored in exercise science and sports studies. In 1998, she earned her master's degree in physical education from the University of North Dakota.