Wolfe Named Head Assistant Coach

Wolfe Named Assistant Volleyball Coach

• Wolfe's Bio from Florida Media Guide

Lincoln -- Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook announced Monday that he has named Staci Wolfe, an assistant at Florida for the past five seasons, as his new head assistant coach. Wolfe replaces Nikki Best, who resigned earlier this month to pursue a head coaching position.

Wolfe's primary duties will include recruiting, team training, academics, and working with the community. She will also assist with summer camps.

"My criteria for an assistant coach was to find somebody with high energy, a strong presence and a dynamic personality," Cook said. "Many people remember her when she played for the University of Colorado. She was the heart and soul of that team. She's a real competitor. I felt real comfortable and confident that she would be a good fit. She had a major responsibility at Florida, so she's got some big-time experience and she understands what we are trying to do at Nebraska. We've played Florida three times in the last two years and she stands out as a rising star in the coaching ranks."

Wolfe, a native of Los Gatos, Calif., is considered one of the nation's top assistants after helping the Gators advance three NCAA Final Fours in the past four seasons. Wolfe, who joined Head Coach Mary Wise's staff in 1995, has helped Florida win five consecutive Southeastern Conference championships and five SEC Tournament titles. This past season Florida went 33-3 with a 14-0 record in the SEC. The Gators lost to Pacific in the NCAA East Regional championship. Over the past five seasons, Florida compiled a 174-14 overall record and a perfect 70-0 SEC mark. She also helped coach seven All-Americans, including two-time selection and 1999 SEC Player of the Year, Jenny Manz.

"I'm more than excited to be coaching at Nebraska," Wolfe said. "Playing at Colorado and coaching against Nebraska, I've always respected the program. And now to be on the bench wearing red is pretty exciting. John and I both have the goal of winning a national championship, so it's not going to be hard to move from one top five program to another."

During her tenure at Florida, Wolfe's responsibilities included serving as the team's offensive coordinator, assisting in all areas of recruiting, serving as staff liaison to the Office of Student Life and coordinating summer camp.

Wolfe also gained valuable coaching and administrative experience while working with the Gainesville Juniors, a local club volleyball program. In 1996, she was the head coach of a 16-and-under squad, which qualified for the 64-team Junior Olympic National Tournament by capturing the Florida Regional title. Prior to Florida, Wolfe was head coach of the 18 Gold Boulder Volleyball Club in Colorado.

A four-year starting swing hitter for Colorado, Wolfe was twice named to the Big Eight Conference All-Tournament team (1993 and 1994) and was an All-Big Eight selection in 1994. Despite having to sit out most of her senior season due to a blood clot in her shoulder, Wolfe finished her collegiate playing days as the school record holder for career service aces with 174. She also finished fourth in career attacks (2,967), fifth in kills (1,005) and digs (1,035) and sixth in kills per game (2.73). During her career, Wolfe led Colorado to the 1992 Big Eight Tournament championship with a win over Nebraska in Omaha. Colorado also won the school's only Big Eight regular season championship the following season. CU also advanced to consecutive NCAA "Sweet 16" appearances in 1993 and 1994. She graduated from Colorado with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1995.