Eastern Kentucky University Women's Volleyball

Jeff Patton was named head coach of the EKU beach volleyball program in July of 2021 In 2024 Patton led the Colonels to a 16-14 overall record, the best in program history. The Colonels went 4-3 against ASUN competition in the regular season. Sarah Mitchell broke the program's all-time win record for a single player in an EKU career as her and playing partner Paityn Walker were ranked as high as No.13 in the top-flight of the NCAA. EKU also started the season 5-1 the best start in program history to a season. In 2023, Patton led the Colonels to the best season in program history. EKU won 15 matches, including eight victories by sweep, and posted a winning record in the regular season for the first time ever. The Colonels set program records for most wins in a season, highest winning percentage, longest winning streak, longest road/neutral winning streak, and best start to a season.  In his first season as head coach, Patton guided EKU to a then-record five victories. The Colonels also won three consecutive matches for the first time in program history.  Patton joined the indoor program as an assistant in February of 2019 and served as the assistant coach for beach two seasons before taking over the program.   Patton came to EKU from Northwestern University where he was a volunteer assistant coach for the Wildcats.  During his time at Northwestern he oversaw the team's serve training and strategies during matches, while also creating scouting reports and videos.   The Auburn, California native played two years of collegiate volleyball at Loyola University.  During his senior campaign he ranked fourth on the team in service aces and helped lead his team to its first-ever NCAA semifinal berth.   Patton was a coach and part time assistant club director for D1 Volleyball Club, where he worked to maximize player talent to compete at the regional, state and nation levels.   Patton received a master's degree in counseling with a specialization is sport and health psychology from Adler University.

Tierney Flaherty was hired as EKU's beach volleyball assistant coach in February 2023. She also serves as an Athletic Academic Advisor which she began in May of 2024. In 2024, Flaherty helped coach the Colonels to a 16-14 overall record, the best in program history. The Colonels went 4-3 against ASUN competition in the regular season. Sarah Mitchell broke the program's all-time win record for a single player in an EKU career as her and playing partner Paityn Walker were ranked as high as No.13 in the top-flight of the NCAA. EKU also started the season 5-1 the best start in program history to a season. In her first season at EKU, the Colonels posted the best season in program history. EKU won 15 matches, including eight victories by sweep, and posted a winning record in the regular season for the first time ever. The Colonels set program records for most wins in a season, highest winning percentage, longest winning streak, longest road/neutral winning streak, and best start to a season.  She arrived in Richmond after spending one season with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball program. Flaherty spent the 2019-21 seasons at Tennessee Tech where the program tallied a winning record in the OVC each year. The 11 OVC wins in 2021 were the most for Tech since 2008.   Under Flaherty, Tennessee Tech finished 46th in the nation in total team blocks, 61st in blocks per set and led the OVC in both categories.   Flaherty joined the Golden Eagles after serving as an assistant coach at Wofford College for the 2018 season. Among other responsibilities, she handled student-athlete academic support and team camp organization and assisted with film breakdown, opponent scouting, travel, and meal planning.     Prior to her time at Wofford, Flaherty was a student assistant coach at App State for the 2017 season. In her position, she compiled scouting reports from Volleymetrics and team film, assisted the head coach with practice drills and game planning, charted opposing teams' offenses, helped with the invitations and coaching aspects of the annual team camp, and performed administrative duties.  She also helped as an assistant coach for two seasons at Watauga High School in Boone, N.C. There, she assisted both varsity and junior varsity coaches during practice and games and helped refine the volleyball skills of the players. Flaherty contributed to the class of 2018's three-year record of 64-12 and the team's two appearances in the Final Eight.     Flaherty began her playing career in 2014 at Wofford before transferring to Appalachian State in 2016. Following an injury, she spent the 2017 campaign as a student assistant coach   She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Appalachian State in December 2017 with a 3.97 GPA. Flaherty added a Master of Arts in exercise science in December 2021 graduating Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA from Tennessee Tech.

Ashllyn King, who concluded her playing career in 2024 at Tennessee, was chosen as EKU’s assistant coach in July of 2025.   In 2025, King helped guide EKU to the finals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.  The Colonels finished 22-9, the most wins for the program since 2005.   Emilee Hill was chosen as the 2025 ASUN Player of the Year, Cassidy Trahan was picked as the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and Addison Burke earned ASUN Freshman of the Year honors.  Five players picked up all-conference recognition, two were picked to the ASUN All-Freshman Team and two earned ASUN All-Tournament honors.  Hill capped her junior season by earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region and Honorable Mention All-America recognition.   King, a libero and outside hitter, played in 87 matches at UT from 2021 through the 2024 season, serving as a team captain her final three seasons.  “We are thrilled to have Ashllyn as part of the EKU volleyball family,” EKU Head Coach Johnna Bazzani said.  “Her experience as a player at the University of Tennessee brings a high level of knowledge, passion, and competitive drive to our program.  Ashllyn’s energy and commitment to developing student-athletes has made an immediate impact.  She has had a positive influence on our team both on and off the court.”   As a sophomore she averaged 3.2 digs.  During her junior season, King totaled 31 service aces which was the fifth-most in a season for the Vols during the 25-point rally-scoring era.  She capped her career by starting 27 matches at libero and finishing second on the team in assists as a senior.   Before beginning her collegiate career, King was an all-state selection at Blackman High School.  She was named to the 2019 AVCA Phenom List, chosen as a “player that shined” at the 2019 JVA World Challenge, earned PrepVolleyball Soph79 Elite honorable mention in 2019 and was selected to the 2019 Ultra Ankle JVA Watch List.   The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism/electronic media at UT in May of 2024.  She completed a master’s of science in marketing in May of 2025.    As a student in Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business Marketing, King worked alongside Nissan to discover the target market for its new electric vehicle.  She also worked as a filming and editing intern with The Volunteer Channel during the summer of 2023.