By Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti ):
Four seasons is not enough for Jolene Shepardson who inked another four-year contract as head volleyball coach Friday.
Shepardson came to SJSU from CSU Bakersfield where she coached a winless 0-31 team to 8-18 in her first year back in 2011.
When Shepardson came to SJSU, she was given an 8-23 team that hadn’t seen a winning season in 11 years. She has since turned that team around as well.
The 2017 season marked the best indoor season since 2006 with a 17-12 finish. In her four years as head coach, Shepardson earned 46 wins compared to the 43 earned in the five years prior to her arrival.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue to build San Jose State volleyball,” Shepardson said to Spartans Athletics. “I am very proud of the young women who’ve grown so much over these past years, however we still have much to accomplish.”
Since coming to San Jose, the Spartans have upset nationally ranked Colorado State in consecutive seasons with Shepardson as coach.
She is part of the husband-wife “power couple” that leads the volleyball program. While her husband Aaron takes the beach season in spring, Shepardson runs the indoor fall season.
Although they switch from head coach to assistant coach going indoor to outdoor, Jolene and Aaron remain on the court together in both sports.
Once beach volleyball is over in April, Shepardson will start her fifth season indoor season as head coach of the Spartans.