Women's Volleyball

Aleah Hayes is in her fifth year as head volleyball coach at Trinity Valley Community College.

Coming into the season, Hayes, only the second coach in program history, is 87-51, including a 31-11 record last season, which matched the school record for wins in a season in the 13-year history of the program.

The 2022 season was also historic with the first-ever Region XIV Conference and Tournament championships. The Lady Cardinals went 16-0 in conference action and were 3-0 at the regional tournament, earning their second trip to the national tournament. The Lady Cardinals finished eighth in the event  held in West Plains, MO.

Hayes assumed her first head coaching job at the college after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Columbia College, a NAIA school in Columbia, Missouri. She also has one year as an assistant at Evangel University and two years as a graduate assistant at Columbia on her resume.

Hayes graduated with distinction from Columbia in 2014, where she played for two seasons, earning All-America honors. Upon graduation, she spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Columbia, where she was a part of the Cougars’ national championship team in 2015.

She then spent a season as an assistant coach at Evangel University before returning to her alma mater for the past two seasons.

Before serving as a graduate assistant, Hayes graduated from Columbia with a degree in psychology and elementary education. While at Columbia, she played for the Cougar volleyball team. She was a scholar-athlete and received the AMC Champions of Character award in both 2011 and 2012, while also earning the Columbia College Student Athlete Champion of Character Award.

Hayes was a member of Alpha Chi and Kappa Delta Pi, serving as president.

Prior to transferring to Columbia for her junior season, Hayes played two seasons at Texas Tech University. As a defensive specialist and libero for the Red Raiders, she saw extensive playing time as a freshman and was a starter in her sophomore season. Hayes was a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection in her second year.

In 2016, Hayes was awarded the 30 Under 30 Award by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. She also received the 2017 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Wynn Award. The award is presented to former high school, college and pro standouts who made an impact in their sports.

Hayes was a four-year starter in volleyball at Ozark High School and was a three-time All-Southwest Missouri Region selection, along with being named All-State as a senior.

In addition to volleyball, Hayes was on Ozark's swimming and diving team and qualified for the state championships for four straight years as both a swimmer and diver. She was also a pole vaulter for the Tigers' track and field team.

She was class salutatorian, graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

In 2014, Hayes received a degree in psychology and elementary education at Columbia. She completed her master’s in teaching at Columbia in 2016.

THE HAYES FILE

Age: 32

Hometown: Ozark, Missouri

Parents: Bruce and Joanna

Siblings: Jade (sister) 

COACHING EXPERIENCE

2017-18 – Columbia College (assistant coach)

2016 – Evangel University (assistant coach)

2014-15 – Columbia College (graduate assistant)

• 2015 Columbia team won NAIA national championship

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

2005-09 – Ozark High School

• Multi-sport sport athlete, participating in swimming & diving a track & field; two-time all-state selection in volleyball; three-time state qualifier in swimming & diving

2009-10 – Texas Tech University

• Starter as a sophomore and First Team Academic All-Big 12

2011-12 – Columbia College

• All-American and two-time recipient of AMC Champions of Character Award; recipient of Columbia College Student-Athlete Champion of Character Award

Notes: Her father is a minister and professor and her mother is a teacher and coach … Both parents were student-athletes: father (football, track): mother (volleyball) … Has had two coaches with Olympic experiences: Lori Endicott-Vandersnick (volleyball) and Ginny Fulner (swimming).

Favorite Ice cream:  Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Interesting Fact:  I have traveled to 13 different countries!