Sherisa Livingston has been named the newest head coach of the Radford University volleyball program as announced on Friday morning, by the Radford University Athletics Department. Livingston becomes the 11th head coach in program history.
“We are thrilled to announce Sherisa Livingston as our new volleyball coach,” said athletic director Robert Lineburg. “Sherisa has excelled as a student-athlete, a professional athlete, and a coach. She has an outstanding background and is a wonderful fit for Highlander volleyball. We believe she will build on the tremendous tradition that has been established in this program over the years.”
Livingston comes to Radford with nearly seven years of coaching experience following a phenomenal career as a student-athlete and as a professional. Most recently, she was the assistant coach at fellow Big South Conference institution Winthrop University.
“I’m honored to be chosen as the next head coach for the Highlander volleyball program,” Livingston said. “I’d like to thank Dr. Hemphill, Robert, Lisa and the rest of the administration and staff for their hospitality and support. I look forward to being a part of the Highlander family and am excited to lead the volleyball team as we work to continue the legacy and tradition of success.”
While with the Winthrop Eagles, Livingston trained student-athletes at the attack and blocking positions and helped to develop the team offense. She aided the passer strategy, coordinated game plans, recruited student-athletes and managed the daily operations of the program. The 2019 season for Winthrop concluded with a Big South Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, its first since 2006. The Eagles posted an overall record of 24-5 with a perfect 14-0 conference slate.
Livingston has had coaching stops at Tennessee Tech, the University of Antelope Valley, Seattle University and Nebraska. She launched the first volleyball program in Antelope Valley history, has coached numerous all-conference selections at two different institutions, including Big South Player of the Year/Setter of the Year and tournament MVP Siani Yamaguchi.
Livingston’s playing experience as a student-athlete came at Wisconsin where she received her bachelor’s degree in history. She is the Badger’s all-time kills leader and was a key member in helping the team reach the NCAA tournament all four years of her career. The Badgers finished as national runners-up in 2000. Livingston and her team also won back-to-back Big Ten Championships.
She was named to the NCAA all-tournament team, the Co-Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, Wisconsin’s Female Athlete of the Year (2000-01) and was a two-time AVCA First Team All-American, a nine-time conference tournament selection, a four-time all-region honoree and was honored as the Big Ten Player of the Week six times during her career.
Livingston played for USA Volleyball on the junior national team in 1998-99. On the national stage, she garnered recognition as the ‘best blocker’ at the 1999 world championships in Canada.
After college, she continued to play volleyball on a global scale. She won gold at the NORCECA games in Mexico in 1998 and played on a team that won the Indonesia Proliga championship in 2005 and another team that was the vice champion in the Romanian league in 2008-09.
Livingston earned her master’s degree from American Public University in sport management in December 2019.
–RU Athletics
