University of Nebraska at Kearney Women's Volleyball

Alma Mater:              Simpson (Ia.) College Graduating Year:      1988 Experience:               27th Year Coaching Career 1999-Present: Nebraska-Kearney (Head Coach) 1993-98: Hastings College, Neb. (Head Coach) 1992: Seward County C.C., Kans. (Head Coach) 1990-91: Remsen Saint Mary High School, Iowa (Head Coach) Rick Squiers completed his 26th season as the University of Nebraska at Kearney head volleyball coach with the end of the 2024-25 academic year. He is just the third head coach in school history, following Patty Sitorius and the late Rosella Meier. In 26 years at the helm, Squiers has led UNK to two National Runner Up finishes, 25 NCAA Tournament appearances, four Elite Eight appearances, 17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)/Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) regular season crowns, 11 league tournament titles and a 429-24 home mark. That includes two winning streaks of 66 matches in a row, both among the longest in D2 history.  The Iowa native and 12-time RMAC/MIAA Coach of the Year is 788-111 in his UNK tenure, good for a winning percentage of 88 percent. This doesn't include the "non-countable" 2021 spring season when the Lopers went 16-3. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 fall season was canceled at the D2 level.  In 32 years as a college (four year institutions only) head coach, Squiers has a record of 994-170, a winning percentage of 85 percent. Including a year at a junior college and two seasons at the high school level, his overall mark stands at 1,095-204 over 35 seasons. Continuing the Lopers long tradition of volleyball success, the five-time American Volleyball Coaches Association Region Coach of the Year has seen 29 different players earn All-American honors at least once in their careers. That includes his daughters, Anna and Madison. In 2005, Kearney native Erin Gudmundson was named the AVCA Division II National Player of the Year. She is one of seven Loper middle hitters since 2000 to earn All-American honors. Right side Annie Wolfe won the same award as a senior in 2016. The Omaha Marian grad worked her way from the back row into a starting right side over her final two seasons. Squiers has also seen 36 different players selected to one of two All-Region squads with 67 different Lopers earning All-RMAC or All-MIAA honors the past two decades. The Lopers dominated the RMAC individual awards in the Squiers era, earning the Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and Freshman of the Year multiple times. Academically, middle hitter Kelli Brummer earned Academic All-American honors in 2001 and was one of 35 UNK players to make the Academic All-RMAC squad between 1999-2011. In 2008 and 2009, middle Nikki Scott was voted the RMAC Academic Player of the Year. The 2012 season marked a change for all UNK teams as the Lopers moved into the MIAA. Loper volleyball didn't miss a beat, winning both the regular season and tournament titles en route to a 35-3 mark and a No. 3 national ranking. Having three All-Americans, the Lopers also reached the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2016, Kearney again won both MIAA titles in posting a 35-2 mark. Finishing the year ranked fifth, the Lopers went 17-0 in the H&S Center, pushing its home court win streak to 35 in a row. Subsequently, Squiers was named the Central Region and MIAA C.O.Y., Wolfe picked up MIAA P.O.Y. honors with middle Mackenzie Puckett tabbed as the region and MIAA F.O.Y. More recently, the Lopers went 38-1 in 2019 and reached the National Championship match. UNK won the MIAA regular season and tournament titles once again and finished the regular season with a 30-0 mark. It was the second undefeated regular season in program history.  UNK hosted the NCAA Central Regional for a second straight season and staged a comeback for the ages in the in the finals to reach the Elite Eight in Denver. The Lopers downed Concordia-St. Paul in fives sets before beating Gannon (Pa.) and Rockhurst (Mo.) in Colorado to reach the national title mach. Squiers picked up a slew of coaching awards including being tabbed the region C.O.Y. and the State College C.O.Y. by both the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star. Individually, UNK had three All-Americans led by co-captain Julianne Jackson, the MIAA Co-Player of the Year.  In 2005, UNK went 38-2 and finished as National Runners up, falling to Grand Valley (Mich.) State, 3-1, in the title match. The Lopers went 19-0 in the RMAC for the second straight year as well as winning a second straight RMAC Tournament. UNK hosted the Elite Eight, drawing record crowds to the Health & Sports Center with a crowd of 5,025 watching the Loper-GVSU match. The Lopers also had a 66-match winning streak come to an end in 2018. UNK went 33-3 that season, winning both the MIAA regular season and tournament titles. That year was one of six times Kearney hosted the Central Regional in the Squiers era (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2018 and 2019).           The 2004 campaign was one of the most successful campaigns not only in UNK history but D2 history as well. The Lopers became the seventh team, at the time, to go through the regular season unbeaten (33-0), were ranked No. 1 in the nation for 12 straight weeks and advanced to the national semifinals. A slew of individual honors included four Lopers earning AVCA All-American honors.            Prior to UNK, Squiers was head coach at Hastings College, a school that Sitorius coached at before UNK. In his tenure, Squiers’ teams posted a 206-59 record and averaged 34 wins a year. From 1993-98, his teams were a fixture in the NAIA polls. In three of those years (1994, 1996 and 1998), Hastings qualified for the NAIA National Tournament. The Broncos also collected three Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference (NIAC) championships (1996-1998). In each of the years Hastings won the league, Squiers was named the NIAC COY.  Before Hastings, Squiers was the head coach at Seward County J.C. in Liberal, Kans. In 1992, he led the Lady Saints to a 28-23 record. Squiers first volleyball coaching job came at Remsem Saint Mary High in Remsen, Ia. In two years, his teams went 73-11, won two conference titles with Squiers being named league Coach of the Year in 1990.            His coaching career began in men’s basketball as he was a graduate assistant at Wyoming in 1989. Squiers also coached basketball at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D.            Graduating in 1988 with a degree in physical education from Simpson College in Indianola, Ia., Squiers received his Master’s degree in physical education, emphasizing in administration, from Wyoming the following year. Squiers lives in Kearney with his wife, Kim. They have six children; Jordan, Rebecca, David, Madison, Anna and Callie. David (football), Jordan (volleyball), Rebecca (basketball) and Callie (volleyball) were or are college student-athletes like Anna and Madison.   

Samantha Hammond rejoined the Nebraska Kearney volleyball coaching staff in the summer of 2022 and was promoted to head assistant coach in early 2023.  The Taylor native and former Loper All-American spent 2022 as UNK's second assistant coach, helping the team go 28-6, reach a 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament and finish 15th in the final Top 25 poll. In 2023, the Lopers reached the NCAA Tournament second round, went 29-6 and were MIAA Tournament runners up for a second straight fall. In 2024, a 30-3 season featured another NCAA berth, an MIAA regular season title and four AVCA All-Americans.    She previously was head volleyball coach, Athletic Facility and Special Events Coordinator at the College of Saint Mary (2010-17), head volleyball coach at Lexington High School (2008-10 & 2017-22) and a UNK grad assistant coach (2007). Most recently, Hammond was Manager at The Rustic Patch in Kearney. "In addition to an established and versatile coaching pedigree, her Loper ties make for a near seamless transition," said UNK Head coach Rick Squiers. "We caught a huge break in hiring Sam and we look forward to having her on board full-time."   Hammond guided the NAIA CSM Flames for seven seasons, winning 103 matches. That included a 20-9 mark in 2014 with the program moving into the tough Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) at the end of her tenure. At Lex, she won over 80 matches and coached current Loper DS Cordy Harbison.   She began her playing career at Texas Tech before transferring to UNK and being part of three Elite Eight teams (2003-05). The 2004 squad went 40-1 with the 2005 team finishing as National Runners Up. She was a three-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) selection and a 2005 AVCA honorable mention All-American.