West Liberty University is home to a number of successful athletic programs. Up until relatively recently, volleyball was not counted amongst that number.
Former head coach Kayla Mull changed that, forming the Hilltoppers’ from a conference also-ran into a competitive program that legitimately could stand toe-to-toe with the MEC’s best, including national power Wheeling.
Mull’s decision to step down potentially could have thrown that work into disarray. But West Liberty Athletics Director Lynn Ullom believes he’s found the perfect person to keep the recent successes going, and there are many who agree with him.
Ullom introduced Riley Schenk as the next coach of the Hilltoppers during a news conference Tuesday inside the Boyle Conference Room at the ASRC.
“This individual absolutely blew me away when I had the chance to interview her,” Ullom said. “I’ve been on 100s of these committees during my 30 years here at West Liberty and helped interview many candidates.
“I can say with 100 percent honesty that her passion burns white hot. It was incredible in this interview process how she was able to verbalize to me and to the committee how much she wanted this job, this opportunity to lead these outstanding young ladies.”
If Schenk’s name sounds familiar, it should.
She’s a graduate of Mount Union University and an all-conference setter for the Purple Raiders.
But more importantly, she spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant on Mull’s staff, helping not only shape but also recruit the Hilltoppers’ players while she earned her Master of Education degree in sports leadership and coaching at West Liberty.
Ullom talks to gathered media about Schenk’s hiring. 
Schenk speaks about her excitement for the job and how she’s ready to take West Liberty to the next level.
The Hilltop Beckons
Schenk recently left the program to be an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at Penn State University-Behrend, a Division III program. Coaching collegiately is a career goal of hers and, she left the Hilltoppers family to begin pursuing her dream.
She was soon called back, however, and Schenk knew there was little question that she was putting in for this position.
“I have a very good relationship with the head coach at PSU-Behrend, and it was an amazing opportunity for a young coach like me to get my career started,” Schenk admitted. “But when I found out Kayla was going to resign this job and it would be opened, I jumped right on it.
“I communicated with (PSU-Bs) staff and said that this was my career goal, to have my own program.
“This is a school and a program that I am passionate about, and I know these young women, and I’m passionate about them as well.”
Schenk is a Lorain, Ohio, native and had an outstanding career at Mount Union, capped by being named first team all-OAC and honorable mention all-region for her efforts.
But it’s her work with the Hilltoppers post-grad, including during the memorable 2018 season that saw WLU finish with a 24-10 record, the program’s first regional ranking and a runner-up finish to Wheeling in the MEC.
“Riley made a tremendous impression on all of us during her two years as a graduate assistant,” Ullom said. “We are extremely grateful to Kayla for the job she did in putting West Liberty volleyball on the map and strongly believe that Riley is the right person at the right time to take our program where we want to go.”
How much do you think previously serving on the coaching staff, not only understanding the players’ strengths and weaknesses, but also the program culture and university as a whole factored into your being named head coach?
I definitely think it helped. I know the returners and I recruited all the ones coming in. They all know me; it’s a familiar face for them, and they know what they’re going to get out of me because I had that respect from them when I was here, and I respected them as well. It definitely helped with the interview process
Was any uncertainty surrounding the program with Coach Mull’s decision put to with your hiring, given that you, better than anyone else available, offer that seamless transition given you were already on the staff? Did that help any with keeping the commitments of the 2020 recruiting class?
It’s been a long process, but I think they are definitely happy now that they know who it is that is going to be coaching, and now that they know it’s me, I think we’ll be okay. I think they are ready to come in and play, especially the freshmen because it is such a different experience for them.
Coach Mull had three 20-win seasons and a school record 136 wins. She definitely elevated the program, and you were here for part of that. What do you think it will take for West Liberty to take that next step, not only to greater success but being able to challenge Wheeling yearly for conference championships and spots in the NCAA tournament?
Coach Mull did a great job building the program up and getting us right to that hump that we just barely need to cross. My job is to bring in the big-time recruits and train the ones we have now because we’re going to get there. Me having to invest my time in recruiting, creating those relationships and knowing what my players need is going to get us there. And, we just have to bring in some studs; that’s obviously what we need to do. That’s what I’m going to start in right away is the recruiting process.
There are a number of Ohio and Pennsylvania players on the roster, but it’s not often that a local athlete has found her way to the Hilltoppers lineup. Is that more of a product of volleyball not being as big in this area for girls as, say, basketball, softball, or soccer, and when you do find MEC-caliber players locally, will you place any added emphasis on their recruitment?
We haven’t had that many local kids in the past, at least the last two years. I want to open my recruiting boundary and try to get some more local kids, but I also feel we have great connections in Ohio and Michigan too and want to keep those club connections open and be able to recruit there was well.
Speaking of club-level volleyball, is the lack of a strong youth developmental league and multiple club options locally some things that you foresee need attention?
Club volleyball in this area lacks a bit because there aren’t a lot of clubs to play for. There’s one kind of local club, but then the next closest is near Cambridge on one side and then up toward Pittsburgh on the other. I’m passionate about club and youth volleyball. With a facility like the Highlands (Sports Complex) opening up, that may bring about the interest of forming another team or getting a competitive youth league going which I think will help. Maybe in the future that is something I could look into getting involved with as well, but that’s on down the line. The good news is now we have the space where that can happen and grow.
