By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech head volleyball coach Jeannette Phillips announced the newest addition to the Golden Eagle staff Wednesday with the hiring of Haley DeSales as an assistant coach.
DeSales joins the Tech staff after serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Oregon State during the 2021 campaign. She assisted the coaching staff with scouting, recruiting, travel arrangements, running drills, and creating practice plans.
"I could tell from the moment I stepped on campus that Tennessee Tech was a special place and I immediately felt welcomed," DeSales expressed. "I am incredibly excited to be a part of the Golden Eagle family. I want to thank [Director of Athletics] Mark Wilson, Jeannette Phillips, and all the other staff for this opportunity. I can't wait to get started and call Cookeville home."
Prior to her time in Corvallis, DeSales completed two years as a graduate assistant at Concordia University Irvine. During her time at CUI, she worked closely with the liberos and primary passers on serve receive and defense. She also managed to team's Instagram account, uploaded Volleymetrics, and served as the recruiting coordinator starting in January 2020, helping with visits and running the recruiting email and day-to-day communications with recruits.
"Haley is a great fit for us in so many ways," Phillips explained. "She is ready to grind it out in order to help us take the next step toward our goals and she is one of those people that is just fun to be around. We believe that if you surround yourself with good people, good things will happen. We are so happy that Haley has decided to join our crazy bunch since we believe she is one of the good ones.
"She will hit the ground running as our new recruiting coordinator by getting on the road as soon as possible, and we love her willingness to dive right in."
She also served as the head coach of the Prime Volleyball Club for teams in the 11's and 15's age groups from 2016-21.
"Haley was a great player and we love how that will translate to our current student-athletes in such an authentic way. She will have a 'been there, done that' perspective that our players will appreciate."
DeSales played three seasons at the University of California, Irvine from 2016-19, competing as both a six rotation outside hitter (2016 and 2017) and a libero (2018). A two-time All-Big West Conference First Team member, she ranked fourth in the league in service aces in 2017 and third in the conference in 2018 with 4.69 digs per set.
She also finished in the top-10 in Anteater single-season history with 489 total digs during the 2018 campaign. Prior to her career at UC Irvine, she competed for one season at Washington State in 2015.
A 2019 graduate of UC Irvine, DeSales received her bachelor's degree in education sciences following her playing career. She added a master's degree in education from Concordia University Irvine in May 2021.
Photo courtesy of Oregon State Athletic Communications