Tarleton State University Women's Volleyball

Tarleton Athletics announced on Sept. 17, 2024, the hiring of Dayna Masters as the new head coach for Texan Beach Volleyball.   “Dayna Masters has done tremendous things locally surrounding beach and indoor volleyball, and with her deep Tarleton State ties, she is the right choice for our program moving forward,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said at the time of her hiring. “With her passion to teach, Dayna will be both a strong coach and leader of our Texan student-athletes.”   Masters has been the owner, club director and coach at Sky High Volleyball since 2018. Sky High Volleyball, located in Stephenville, is a competitive youth volleyball organization that strives to give athletes of all ages and skill level access to highly experienced coaches who love the game. The club provides indoor and beach opportunities to athletes aged 12-18.   Over the past six years, Masters has provided leadership and management for the club organization, while supervising and training all staff. With 100 athletes currently, Masters has contributed to the vision, goals, and activities of the club.   Sky High Volleyball Club has assisted in boosting 12 athletes to collegiate athletics, including five this year, alone.   “I want to thank VP and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz and Deputy AD Eric Heier for their belief in me to boost the Tarleton State beach volleyball program in every way,” Masters said. “I’ve greatly enjoyed training local athletes to reach their potential, and this is a great opportunity to further that by leading Texan student-athletes in maximizing their game at the NCAA Division I level. I’ve always said, ‘Work hard and let God do the rest,’ and I’ll lead with that same mentality at Tarleton State.”   Masters has great history at Tarleton State, having earned her master’s degree in kinesiology last year in Stephenville, and her bachelor of science degree at Tarleton in 2017. She is married to Tarleton Athletics Hall of Fame member Kyle Masters, who played for Texan Football from 2000-04.   The De Leon, Texas, native has also been a physical therapist assistant for the past 22 years. She played one year of volleyball at the collegiate level before that, spending a season as an outside hitter at Cisco College. Dayna and Kyle have two daughters, Sage and Bentley, and reside in Stephenville. 

When the 2024-25 year starts, Blaine Hamilton will begin her 11th season as the head coach of the Tarleton Cheer program. Hamilton, a native of Stephenville, has led Tarleton Cheer to back-to-back national championships. Tarleton co-ed cheer squad won the 2024 Spirit Rally and 2023 NCA Game Day DII National Championships to add on to winning the first ever NCA Game Day DII National Championship in April of 2018. Prior to arriving in Stephenville, she coached the Temple High School cheerleaders for three seasons. Her squad cheered for all of the programs at 5A Temple. She has also taught technology at Temple, Peaster, and Dublin High School. An alumna of Tarleton, Hamilton earned her master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in athletic administration in August 2017 and her undergraduate degree in business management in August 2005.   She is married to Casey Hamilton. The couple resides in Stephenville and have three daughters – Mayci, Malli and McKynli.

Tarleton State Volleyball introduced Alleah Stamatis as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on Jan. 21, 2025. Stamatis joins Jazmyne Johnson and Damien Hardy ahead of Tarleton State Volleyball's 2025 season. "Alleah is the missing piece to my puzzle of what I want to build here at Tarleton," said head coach Jazmyne Johnson. "Alleah values the relationships, the mentorship and the betterment of the student-athletes. She is someone who will bring great experience and knowledge as both a student-athlete and a coach. Alleah has worn multiple hats during her career and I believe the city of Stephenville and the Texan community will fall in love with her beautiful spirit. Alleah is a competitor in every way. I am extremely blessed and excited that Alleah is joining our staff in this new era of Texan Volleyball." Prior to being selected as an assistant coach for Texan Volleyball, Stamatis served as an assistant coach at Mississipi State University from 2023-24. During her first season coaching in Starkville, Stamatis helped lead the Bulldogs to a victory over No. 14 ranked Florida. The team also achieved victories over Auburn and Western Michigan, who both received NCAA Tournament bids that year. Mississippi State recorded a 13-15 overall record with six wins across the SEC. The Bulldogs swept Alabama twice during Stamatis' debut year and also had notable wins over LSU and Ole Miss. Additionally, she assisted in the development of three student-athletes who received SEC weekly honors in 2023. In 2024, MSU notched an 11-14 overall record. Stamatis helped lead the Bulldogs to a six-match winning streak in September and a win against No. 25 ranked Missouri on Nov. 24, 2024. The Bulldogs played four matches against top 25 opponents during Stamatis' second season. "I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Jazmyne's staff," said Stamatis. "She's a fantastic leader, great mentor of mine, and it was an easy yes for me to join her at Tarleton. The vision is clear and the expectations are high for the program. I can't wait for the Johnson era of TSU volleyball to begin!" Additionally, she served as the director of volleyball operations at Mississippi State University from 2021-2022, managing travel, match operations, and statistics. This was her first Division I volleyball position. The Lexington, Kentucky, native played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Jacksonville under current Mississippi State Head Coach, Julie Darty Dennis. Her debut collegiate season was 2017 where she accumulated 154 digs, 35 assists, 27 kills and 10 blocks across 19 matches. In her sophomore year at Jacksonville, she was tabbed as a second team All-Atlantic Sun conference selection. She ranked second in the Atlantic Sun conference with 1,038 assists, tallying 50 or more assists on seven different occasions throughout the season. She then followed Coach Dennis to Mississippi State University to continue her academic and athletic career in the SEC. In 2018, she recorded 10 double-doubles and three games of 20 or more assists. The Bulldogs had a notable 3-2 victory over Auburn during Stamatis' first SEC season. The setter totaled over 1000 assists during her senior year in 2019, becoming the seventh MSU player to reach that mark in a single season. Throughout two seasons at Mississippi State, Stamatis registered a combined total of 1300 assists, 515 digs, 46 blocks, 86 kills and 49 service aces. In November of 2020, Stamatis was named a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Diversity Award, which allowed her to participate in series of educational, developmental and relationship building experiences in conjunction with the 2020 AVCA Virtual Convention. The award was sponsored by SEC assistant coaches. She graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Stamatis will look to rejuvenate the Tarleton State Volleyball program alongside Coach Johnson in the fall of 2025.

Sarah Martinez enters her first season with Tarleton State Volleyball in 2026, as the Texans announced her hiring as assistant coach on Feb. 18, 2026.   Martinez joins Tarleton State from Austin Peay, where she was a graduate assistant coach. In her lone season with the Governors, she provided feedback for ball control players, assisted with first contact coaching and scouting, assisted with recruiting, assisted with defensive training and strategy, plus assisted in creating scouting reports with an emphasis on defense and serve receive.   “I am extremely excited to have Sarah join this staff,” said head coach Jazmyne Johnson at the time of her hiring. “She is vibrant and eager to help Tarleton State Volleyball continue grow into the right direction. Sarah had a successful collegiate career at the D1 level and has been a part of some high-level volleyball as both a player and coach. I am confident Sara will build lasting relationships with our student-athletes and the Stephenville community.”   Martinez played three years at Arkansas State, earning prestigious honors with the Red Wolves. In her final playing season in 2024, Martinez was named the Sun Belt Conference Libero of the Year and First Team All-SBC, along with a Sun Belt All-Tournament Team nod and three SBC Defensive Player of the Week awards. She collected 623 digs in 2024, the most in the SBC and seventh most nationally. Arkansas State went 28-6 overall and 14-2 in SBC play that season, winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship, advancing to the SBC Tournament title match and National Invitational Volleyball Championship.   “I’m truly blessed to be joining Tarleton State and to be part of a program with such a clear vision for growth and excellence,” Martinez said at the time of her hiring. “The culture, vision, and leadership are inspiring. Jaz and Alleah [Stamatis] are building something special, and I’m honored to be on staff. I’m excited to get to work, invest in our student-athletes, and support the continued growth of Tarleton State Volleyball.”   Martinez, a Flower Mound, Texas, native, played her first two collegiate seasons at Houston. She earned her master’s degree in Health and Human Performance in 2025 at Austin Peay and her undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2024 at Arkansas State.

When the 2024-25 season begins, Madison Scott will begin her seventh year as the assistant coach for the Tarleton Cheer Program.   Scott came to Tarleton State in 2015 after spending two years as a cheerleader at Weatherford College. In her two years at Weatherford College, Scott competed once at the NCA Collegiate National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida.   During her three years as a cheerleader at Tarleton, Scott competed at the NCA Collegiate National Championships twice and was a part of the NCA Division II Game Day National Championship team in 2018. This championship was the first in the history of the Texan Cheer team in the inaugural year of the Game Day division. Scott was also the recipient of the Texan Iron award for cheerleading from Tarleton Athletic Performance.   During Scott’s time as an Assistant Coach for the Texan Cheer team, they have competed at the NCA Collegiate National Championships six times. The Texan Cheer team competed in the Advanced Small Coed Division in 2021 and 2022, the Spirit Rally Division in 2021 and the Game Day Division in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024. The team had second place finishes in 2019, 2021, and 2022 before bringing home their second NCA Collegiate National Championship in the Game Day Division in 2023, then their third NCA Collegiate National Championship in the Spirit Rally Division in 2024.   A native of Mineral Wells, Texas, Scott spent eight years coaching All-Star Cheerleading before transitioning to the collegiate level. She graduated from Tarleton with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2018 and a master’s degree in athletic administration in 2020.   She is married to Shane Scott and they reside in Stephenville with their daughter Lennon.