In the fall of 2017, Jackie Simpson-Kirr will enter her third season as the head coach of the George Mason women’s volleyball team. A former University of Wisconsin All-American, Simpson-Kirr is the sixth head women’s volleyball coach in the program’s 43-year history.
Simpson-Kirr has a combined record of 17-39 in her time with the Patriots, during which she and her staff have made great strides to return the winning culture to the program. In her first season in Fairfax, they guided Mason to its most wins (10) since the 2010 season and best finish in the program's Atlantic 10 history. Simpson-Kirr's stint at Mason got off to a perfect start with a sweep over local rival Georgetown in her debut and a four-set win against Howard in the second match of the season. The Patriots also drastically improved away from home under Simpson-Kirr and finished the 2015 season with a 6-9 road record, earning as many road wins as the previous four seasons combined.
“It was important for our group to begin to redefine what it means to be a member of this program; to be a part of the team, rather than simply on the team,” Simpson-Kirr said of the strides the team made last season. “To be a part of something is deeper, it means you are giving to the program. We have begun to build a great foundation. We are still growing and evolving, but we are undoubtedly closer to championship standards."
in 2016, Simpson-Kirr and her entire team left their mark on history after the Patriots recorded program-best 123 digs at Davidson, which ranked sixth best in the nation at the end of the season. Welcoming her first Mason recruiting class last season, Simpson-Kirr had to make adjustment to her lineups and one of the biggest difference makers was converting sophomore outside hitter Catie Espinoza into a libero at the beginning of the campaign. The risky move by the head coach rekindled Espinoza's collegiate career and made her one of Mason's key players with her 46-dig performance against the Wildcats ranking third-best in NCAA.
Before joining Mason, Simpson-Kirr was an assistant coach at the Big Ten’s University of Iowa, a conference that has yielded an NCAA Champion in eight of the last 12 years.
“We believe that Jackie Simpson is the best fit to build on the excellent tradition of Mason volleyball,” said assistant vice president and director of athletics Brad 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.”
The Downers Grove, Illinois, native spent five seasons as an assistant coach for three NCAA Division I programs. As offensive coordinator for both Iowa and Marquette, Simpson-Kirr coached three AVCA All-Americans.
In 2013, Simpson-Kirr was an assistant coach to Bond Shymansky at Marquette, helping the Golden Eagles win their first Big East regular season title with a 15-1 record and the conference tournament championship shortly after to secure their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
The following year, she followed Shamansky to the arguably most competitive women's volleyball conference, where the duo led Iowa to most Big Ten victories (6) since 2008 in their first season with the Hawkeyes. Four of the conference wins came consecutively, as the the team defeated Maryland (3-0), Rutgers (3-1), Indiana (3-2) and No. 12 ranked Purdue (3-1). It was 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. Additionally, the win over Purdue marked the team’s first against a ranked opponent since 2012.
“I feel privileged to have worked with one of the brightest volleyball minds in the game while at Iowa and Marquette,” Simpson-Kirr said. “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 the next step in my coaching career.”
For the Golden Eagles, Simpson-Kirr 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, 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.
Later at Iowa, Simpson-Kirr used her attack-minded coaching techniques to help Alessandra Dietz and Alex Lovell have 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.
Before Mason, Simpson-Kirr already had some experience on the east coast after spending three seasons as an assistant coach and camp coordinator at East Carolina University in the American Athletic Conference.
She spent the 2008 season as an assistant coach at Winona State before continuing her volleyball career in the professional ranks in Germany and Cyprus. In Germany Simpson-Kirr was the starting setter for VC Wiesbaden and later played for AEK Larnaka in Cyprus.
As a student-athlete, Simpson-Kirr 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-Kirr 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.
Simpson-Kirr 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.
Simpson-Kirr's contribution to the sport of volleyball extends off the court as well. In 2016, one of the youngest members ever on the AVCA All-American Committee was named chair of the East Region. In addition, the registrations for the George Mason Volleyball Camps have doubled since her arrival in Fairfax.
