Bryn Mawr College Women's Volleyball

Kirby was announced as the 12th head coach in Owls volleyball's recorded history in the summer of 2020. Kirby arrived at Bryn Mawr after a tremendous two-year turnaround at Waynesburg, where she inherited a one-win program and helped build them to a nine-win team in just two seasons. While at Waynesburg, Kirby was responsible for all aspects of running the D-III women's program, while also serving as a coordinator of student-athlete academics and supervisor of the men's club volleyball team. Prior to her time at Waynesburg, Kirby served as associate head coach at Earlham College for three years. Once again, her time there showcased the dramatic impact she has on her teams; after inheriting a four-win team, Kirby and head coach Lauren Horton ultimately built Earlham into a 15-win program and helped the Quakers collect conference victories for the first time in eight years. Kirby also brought experience as a club coach, having served as club director or head coach at clubs such as Next Level Volleyball Academy, Plex Performance, and Kanawha Valley. She also worked summer camps at the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and University of Texas. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Kirby competed as a student-athlete at West Virginia State University. She put together a very impressive playing career for the Yellow Jackets, becoming a four-year starter and two-year captain and earning Honorable Mention All-Mountain East during her senior year.

Aytug Sasmaz is an assistant professor of political science, teaching courses on comparative politics, Middle East politics, research methods and political parties. His research is on secular-religious cleavage, party politics, and social policy. He spends most of his free time watching, playing and tweeting about (mostly in Turkish) volleyball. He is a big fan of Sultans of the Net (women’s volleyball national team of Turkiye) and Fenerbahce SK, a major sports club in Turkiye with competitive men’s and women’s volleyball teams both of which hold European titles. He also writes on the sportive and social aspects of volleyball.