University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Women's Volleyball

The 2025-26 season marks Tara Hittle's fourth year at the helm of the UCCS volleyball program.  Hittle was hired in January 2022, becoming the ninth head coach in program history to lead the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball program. In 2024, the Mountain Lions recorded an 11-15 overall record and finished in a tie for 11th place in the conference standings, owning a 5-8 league mark.  After starting the season undefeated at 4-0 in the annual Mountain Lion Classic, UCCS tapered off and went 1-3 in their next four non-conference matches.  The Mountain Lions opened the RMAC season with a road win against Black Hills State, but were unable to string together back-to-back wins after the opening weekend of action.  Freshman Payton Tompkins collected All-RMAC Second Team honors, while teammate Emily Pruitt received RMAC Honorable Mention accolades.  Earning RMAC Academic Honor Roll recognition were Rylie Hahn, Maylen Mitrovich, and Sydnee Walker. The 2023 season marked Hittle's second year leading the Mountain Lions.  Hittle led UCCS to an 8-18 overall record and a 6-8 record in conference matches.  The Mountain Lions' 6-8 RMAC record tied them for the 10th-best record in the league.  Nicole Medlin was recognized on the RMAC Honorable Mention team, while four Mountain Lions earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll distinction.  After being voted to the RMAC All-Academic First Team, setter Joei Barela capped off the year by being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. In her first season at the helm, Hittle guided the Mountain Lions to a 13-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matches, tying for the seventh-best league record. Hannah Ammerman, Julia Geiger and Jordyn Kinsey were selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team, while six Mountain Lions earned RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll accolades.  Ammerman and Geiger also garnered RMAC Honorable Mention distinction to go with the academic all-district and RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll awards. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo. and a graduate of Doherty High School, Hittle joins the Mountain Lions after serving the last three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Pepperdine.  In three seasons at Pepperdine, Hittle helped the Waves go 57-21 (.731) overall and a staggering 44-10 (.815) in the West Coast Conference.  This past season, the Waves finished runner-up in the WCC regular season with a 14-4 record and qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I National Tournament.    Since working with the Pepperdine Waves in 2019, Hittle helped coach three Waves to AVCA All-American status, six all-region performances, and 15 student-athletes to All-WCC honors.  The Waves made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA National Tournament (2020 and 2021), while also earning AVCA Top-25 rankings in the last two seasons.   Prior to spending three seasons at Pepperdine, Hittle was an assistant coach at Duke University. In 2018, Hittle helped the Blue Devils squad to a 16-12 overall record and a fifth-place finish in the ACC, as well as a NCAA First Round appearance. She helped three Blue Devils to All-ACC performances, while also guiding two to AVCA All-American accolades.   She spent the 2017 season at Portland State University as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.  She helped the Vikings finish 21-9 overall, posting their ninth 20-win season since 1996.  Hittle coached the Big Sky Libero of the Year at PSU, and four student-athletes to All-Big Sky honors (three first team selections).  Before Portland State, she spent time as a member of the Dartmouth coaching staff in 2016.    Hittle graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in December 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Health.  A two-sport Division I student-athlete, Hittle competed in volleyball and basketball for the Rainbow Wahine.  She was named the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and guided UH to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2004 and 2005, and an Elite 8 appearance in 2006 and 2008.  A three-year team captain, Hittle earned All-WAC honors in three different positions – outside hitter, right side, and libero.   She ranks fifth all-time in the UH career record book for digs (1,315 digs) and ninth in digs per set (2.83).  After graduating from Hawaii, Hittle played professionally for the Volleyball Franches-Montagnes in Switzerland during the 2010-11 season. From 2011-16, she served as a high school and club volleyball coach in Colorado, serving as the head volleyball coach at Valor Christian High School from 2014-15 and Doherty High School from 2011-14.  She led DHS to a 2012 State Championship title and was named 2012 Colorado Coach of the Year.  At Doherty, Hittle coached two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, Haleigh Washington, who went on to win a Gold Medal at the 2021 Olympics.  A product of Doherty High School, Hittle was part of the DHS team that won the 2003 state volleyball championship, and she was named the 2003-04 Gatorade Player of the Year.  

Former professional athlete and NCAA Division I champion Lauren Bowers joined the Mountain Lions in January 2025 as the UCCS Assistant Volleyball Coach.   A junior club volleyball coach since 2008, Bowers came to UCCS after spending the past two and a half years at Colorado Juniors.  Prior to coaching at Colorado Juniors, she spent time at multiple junior volleyball club programs, including Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy, Wildcat Juniors, and First Alliance/City Lions.   Bowers most recently coached at the collegiate level from 2019-21 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also served as the recruiting coordinator.  She helped the Flames complete their first 20-win season in over 20 years while finishing the preseason and conference season with a winning record.  She was part of a coaching staff that coached three Flames to All-Horizon League First Team honors, a Horizon League Freshman of the Year and four student-athletes earn conference Player of the Week awards.   Preceding her time at UIC, Bowers was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Loyola University Chicago from 2014-18.  She helped the Ramblers record program milestones in conference wins, top-25 wins, a top-30 recruiting class, and becoming post-season eligible. In her time at LUC, the Ramblers accounted for six MVC all-conference players and nine Player of the Week honorees.   Bowers began her collegiate coaching career at Colorado State University in 2013-14.  During her time at CSU, the Rams won the Mountain West Conference and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.  The Aurora, Colo. native assisted the program in various administrative functions relating to team schedules, and travel arrangements and developed marketing plans.   The Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year at Grandview High School, Bowers was a four-year varsity letter winner at the University of California-Los Angeles.  A setter who recorded 2,593 assists, she was the team captain who helped the Bruins win the 2011 NCAA National Championship.  An All-American, Bowers was also named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team and All-PAC 12 First Team.  She graduated from UCLA in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, before playing professionally for VC Kanti in Switzerland and in Puerto Rico.