Ohio Wesleyan University Women's Volleyball

Kirsta Cobb completed her 12th season as head volleyball coach at Ohio Wesleyan University in 2025 and is in her 10th year as associate athletics director and senior woman administrator. The Red and Black finished the year with a 15-14 overall record and earned the three-seed in the NCAC Tournament with a 5-2 conference record. OWU would sweep six-seed Kenyon 3-0 in the quarterfinals before falling 3-1 to two-seed John Carroll in the semis. The Bishops won the NCAC Tournament and made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. Ohio Wesleyan tied for second place in the conference standings with a 5-2 record and finished 16-13 overall. Ohio Wesleyan compiled a 20-8 overall record in 2023, finishing in second place in the NCAC standings with a 6-1 mark. The Bishops posted an undefeated season during the 2020-21 campaign, winning all 7 matches. That string included a sweep of national power Wittenberg, not only breaking a 36-match losing streak to the Tigers but marking the first time that Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg more than once in a single season. In 2019, the Bishops overcame a slow start and compiled a 6-2 record in NCAC play, winning the three-seed in the NCAC tournament. Ohio Wesleyan finished with a record of 12-17. In 2016, Ohio Wesleyan undertook perhaps its most challenging schedule ever, with the Bishops emerging with a 19-13 record and a third-place finish in the NCAC tournament. During the 2015 season, Ohio Wesleyan was ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA Division III poll for the first time, peaking at No. 22; had its first AVCA all-region choice since 1996; received its first-ever AVCA All-America selection; and posted records of 7-1 in the NCAC and 26-6 overall, both marking the Bishops’ best since 1998. In 2014, Cobb led the Bishops to a 17-12 overall record, including a mark of 5-3 in NCAC play. The league record, as well as Ohio Wesleyan’s fourth-place finish in the NCAC tournament, each represented the Bishops’ best showings since the 2006 season. Cobb came to Ohio Wesleyan after serving 2 seasons as an assistant coach at Xavier University. She helped guide the Musketeers to a 21-11 record, including a 12-4 mark in Big East play, in 2013, and a 21-11 record, with an 11-3 record in Atlantic 10 competition, in 2012.   Prior to taking the Xavier position, Cobb was head coach at Indiana Institute of Technology for 5 seasons. In each of her last 4 seasons, the Warriors compiled 33 or more victories, won the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference championship, and advanced to the NAIA national tournament, finishing in the top 12 in the nation in 2009. Her Indiana Tech teams compiled a 5-year mark of 160-49, won 4 WHAC championships, 3 WHAC tournament titles, and made 4 NAIA tournament appearances. Cobb was named WHAC Coach of the Year 4 times and was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in its annual Thirty Under 30 Award in 2011.   Cobb is a 2004 graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne, where she played on the volleyball team for 4 years. She served as team captain and was named IPFW’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 2004. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in visual communication and design. Cobb continued her playing career in 2004-05, playing professionally in Denmark before returning to IPFW, where she would earn her master’s in business administration in 2007.   COBB'S CAREER COACHING RECORD Conference Overall Year School W-L % W-L % 2007 Indiana Tech 11-5 .688 25-19 .568 2008 Indiana Tech 13-1 .929 33-5 .842 2009 Indiana Tech 15-0 1.000 34-11 .756 2010 Indiana Tech 14-0 1.000 34-6 .850 2011 Indiana Tech 10-0 1.000 34-8 .810 Indiana Tech (Five Seasons) 63-6 .913 160-49 .766 2014 Ohio Wesleyan 5-3 .625 17-12 .586 2015 Ohio Wesleyan 7-1 .875 26-6 .812 2016 Ohio Wesleyan 5-3 .625 19-13 .594 2017 Ohio Wesleyan 6-2 .750 16-10 .615 2018 Ohio Wesleyan 4-4 .500 12-14 .462 2019 Ohio Wesleyan 6-2 .750 12-17 .414 2020-21 Ohio Wesleyan N/A N/A 7-0 1.000 2021 Ohio Wesleyan 5-3 .625 13-14 .481 2022 Ohio Wesleyan 5-2 .714 12-14 .462 2023 Ohio Wesleyan 6-1 .857 20-8 .714 2024 Ohio Wesleyan 5-2 .714 16-13 .552 2025 Ohio Wesleyan 5-2 .714 15-14 .517 Ohio Wesleyan (12 Seasons) 59-25 .702 185-135 .578 Career (17 Seasons) 122-31 .797 345-184 .652 Last Updated: Nov. 17th, 2025

Jacob Calai enters his first season as assistant volleyball coach at Ohio Wesleyan University in the fall of 2026. He was hired in March of 2026. Calai comes to Ohio Wesleyan from Otterbein University, where he served as a graduate assistant for the 2025 season. Prior to Otterbein, he spent nearly two full years as the Coordinator of Volleyball Operations at Division I program Miami University. With the Redhawks, Calai's duties included film review, scouting, play-calling, and analytics. Prior to his volleyball operations appointment, Calai interned with Miami in the 2021 season and served as a volunteer assistant coach at the Miami University Hamilton branch campus. Calai is a 2022 graduate of Eastern Michigan University, having earned degree in Sport Management with minors in Health Education and Communication. He competed as a member of the Eagles' club volleyball team.