East Central University Women's Volleyball

Danielle Essix enters her third season as the East Central University head volleyball coach in 2025. The ECU Athletic Department announced the hiring of Essix as the fourth head volleyball coach in April of 2023. In just her second year at the helm, Essix led the Tigers to a record-breaking season that echoed her own success as a former standout player— securing the No. 3 seed in the 2024 GAC Championship Tournament for the first time since her senior year in 2013. Under her leadership, the team posted a program-best 18-14 record, setting a new single-season wins record and advancing to the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013. The Tigers also saw individual success, with three players earning All-GAC honors: Odalys Gonzalez was named to the All-GAC First Team, Emma Strickland earned a spot on the Second Team, and Julia Kabala received Honorable Mention recognition. Academic achievements were also a highlight of the season, with several student-athletes recognized for excellence in the classroom, including Seran Eran, Mia Little, Ashleigh Miler, Emma Strickland, and Julia Kabala who were named to the GAC Academic Honor Roll. In her inaugural season as head coach, Essix led ECU to an overall record of 14-15, just one victory shy of tying for most wins in school history. She returned to the Great American Conference Tournament 10 years after closing out her collegiate career as a Tiger in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2013. ECU entered the 2023 GAC Championships as the No. 6 seed and saw two players earn All-GAC Honors. Odalys Gonzalez was named to the All-GAC Second Team while Emma Strickland landed on the All-GAC First Team and was recognized as a GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete. Essix came to the Tigers after spending five seasons as the head coach at Lee College, an NJCAA team in the Region XIV Athletic Conference in Baytown, Texas. During her time with the Navigators, she guided the program to more than 70 wins and helped produce one Libero of the Year, three First Team All-Conference selections, four Second Team All-Conference selections, seven Honorable Mention All-Conference selections, and four Academic All-Americans.   Prior to her tenure at Lee College, Essix was the assistant coach at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, for the 2016 and 2017 seasons before serving as interim head coach for five months. There, she assisted the team to a first-place finish during the 2017 conference season and a second-place finish in the Region XIV Conference Championships.   Essix's first coaching position began at ECU, where she was a graduate assistant from 2014-15 under longtime head coach Dave Thorn, who started coaching the program in 2008.   Before entering her coaching career, Essix was a stand-out on the court from 2010 to 2013, where she left her name on several ECU Career Top-10 lists, including No. 2 in kills and attacks, No. 3 in service aces, points, and double-doubles, No. 4 in matches played, and No. 6 in sets played. In Essix's senior season in 2013, she earned Second Team All-GAC and landed a spot on the All-Tournament team at the GAC Championships.   A native of Commerce, Texas, Essix received her degree in athletic training in 2014 and completed her master's degree in sports administration in 2015 from ECU. Essix's Career Record: Year       School                Record 2018        Lee College            10-13 2019        Lee College            20-13 2020        Lee College            21-19 2021        Lee College            22-16 2022        Lee College            14-15 2023        East Central           14-15 2024        East Central           18-14 Totals:                                        105-105

Kelsie French joins the ECU volleyball program as the assistant coach startinmg the 2026 season. French brings more than a decade of coaching experience at the club level along with an accomplished collegiate playing career that established her as one of the top liberos in NCAA Division II.   Most recently, French has served as a head coach with Club Z Volleyball in Farmington, New Mexico, where she oversaw practice planning, match preparation, film study, statistical analysis and player development while utilizing the Gold Medal Squared coaching methodology.   Before joining Club Z, French coached with Guns Up Volleyball Club in Lubbock, Texas, and spent four seasons with Next Level Volleyball Club, serving in both head and assistant coaching roles. Throughout her club coaching career, she has emphasized skill development, match analysis, practice planning and athlete mentorship. She began her coaching career in 2015 at Full Force Volleyball Club, helping develop young athletes through competitive play and fundamental instruction.   As a player, French enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career at Lubbock Christian University from 2015-18. A four-year libero and three-year team captain, she graduated as one of the most decorated defensive players in program and conference history.   French was named the 2018 Heartland Conference Player of the Year after earning First Team All-Heartland Conference and D2CCA First Team All-South Central Region honors. Earlier in her career, she was selected as the 2015 Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while earning All-Heartland Conference recognition three times. She was also named the 2017 Heartland Conference Co-Libero of the Year and was selected to the Heartland Conference 20th Anniversary Volleyball Team.   Nationally, French ranks among the NCAA Division II career leaders in defensive statistics. She finished her collegiate career with 2,580 digs, ranking third in Heartland Conference history and second in Lubbock Christian program history. Her career average of 6.14 digs per set ranks 11th in NCAA Division II history, while her career digs total ranks among the top 25 all-time in Division II.   French earned her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Lubbock Christian University in 2019, graduating cum laude.