George Mason assistant vice president and director of athletics Brad Edwards announced former University of Wisconsin All-American Jackie Simpson as the sixth head women's volleyball coach in the program's 41-year history. Simpson spent last season as an assistant coach at the Big Ten's University of Iowa, a conference that yielded an NCAA Champion in seven of the last 11 years.
“We believe that Jackie Simpson is the best fit to build on the excellent tradition of Mason volleyball,” said Edwards. “Her experience as a standout player on the court as an All-American at Wisconsin and her international playing experience combined with her quick ascension in the coaching ranks gives her a great upside and made her the perfect person to lead our program.”
“I am thrilled to become the new head coach of women's volleyball at George Mason University,” said Simpson. “I want to thank athletic director Brad Edwards and the search committee for entrusting me with the opportunity to build upon the great tradition of Mason Volleyball. I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of such a well-respected coach and person, Pat Kendrick, who has built a great foundation for the program and I look forward to the challenge of bringing it to new heights.”
The Downers Grove, Illinois, native spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for three NCAA Division I programs. As offensive coordinator for both Iowa and Marquette, Simpson coached three AVCA All-Americans.
At Iowa, Alessandra Dietz and Alex Lovell had standout senior seasons. Dietz broke an eight-year-old career attack percentage record (.276), finishing her career with a .278 attack percentage. She also broke the program's five-year-old single match attack percentage record, hitting .882 with 15 kills in Iowa's 3-0 win at South Dakota State. Lovell closed her career ninth all-time with 1,279 kills in school history, and earned the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Simpson helped guide Iowa to six Big Ten victories in 2014, the most for the program since 2008. Four of the conference wins came consecutively, as the Hawkeyes defeated Maryland (3-0), Rutgers (3-1), Indiana (3-2) and No. 12-ranked Purdue (3-1). It is the longest conference win streak for the program in 20 years, dating back to 1994 when Iowa won eight straight matches and went on to the NCAA Tournament. The win over the Boilermakers marked the team's first against a ranked opponent since 2012.
In 2013, Simpson was an assistant coach at Marquette under current Iowa coach Bond Shymansky. She helped the Golden Eagles win their first Big East regular season title with a 15-1 record, the conference tournament championship and secure their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
For the Golden Eagles, Simpson helped guide a freshman laden attacking group to top finishes in all conference offensive statistical categories including team attack percentage, assists per set, and kills per set. The Marquette offensive system was one of the most efficient in the country finishing the season #11 nationally. She coached senior setter Elizabeth Koberstein who finished the season as the Big East Player of the Year, was the assists per set leader in the Big East, and third in assists per set nationally, and was named to an AVCA All-American Team. The offensive success helped contribute to Marquette's first ever Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championships and a second round finish in the NCAA tournament.
“I feel privileged to have worked with one of the brightest volleyball minds in the game while at Iowa and Marquette,” added Simpson. “I am forever indebted to the wisdom imparted to me by the great program builder Bond Shymansky, and I believe he has helped prepare me for this next step in my coaching career.”
Prior to Marquette, Simpson spent two seasons as an assistant coach and camp coordinator at East Carolina University.
As a student-athlete, Simpson played collegiate volleyball at Wisconsin from 2004-07. The starting setter led the Badgers to the Elite Eight twice and the Sweet Sixteen once. She is a two-time AVCA All-Mideast Region honoree, two-time first team All-Big Ten selection, and an AVCA Second Team All-American. She also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. She was AVCA national player of the week and a two-time Big Ten player of the week. Simpson ended her career second in Badger history and 17th all-time in the Big Ten in assists, and 12th all-time at Wisconsin in blocks.
She spent one season as an assistant coach at Winona State in 2008 before continuing her volleyball career in the professional ranks in Germany and Cyprus. In Germany, Simpson was the starting setter for VC Wiesbaden and in Cyprus, AEK Larnaka.
Simpson earned a bachelor's degree in sports sociology in 2008 from Wisconsin and completed her master's degree in sports psychology in 2013 at East Carolina.
