University of Minnesota Athletics
Volleyball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- schoo286@umn.edu
Email
Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd was announced as an assistant coach for Minnesota volleyball on Jan. 20, 2024. She completed her first year at the 'U' in the fall of 2024.
In her first season at Minnesota, the team finished with a 21-11 (13-7 Big Ten) record, a four-win improvement from the year prior. Minnesota made its 10th straight NCAA Tournament and fell in the Round of 32 to Kentucky. The 'U' earned top-10 wins over then No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Wisconsin, both in five sets. It was the first time Minnesota defeated a No. 1 ranked team since 2019 and the program's second straight home win over Wisconsin. Statistically, Minnesota improved in hitting percentage (.226 to .242), kills per set (12.4 to 13.0), assists per set (11.5 to 11.8), digs per set (14.7 to 15.3) and blocks per set (2.6 to 2.7) from the year prior.
Four Gophers were named to the All-Big Ten teams, including three on the first team with Lydia Grote, Julia Hanson and Melani Shaffmaster. The growth of Julia Hanson was a major turning point of the team in 2024. The junior had just 98 total kills in her first two years of college before having a breakout third season. She earned a starting spot and never looked back. She hit double-digit kills in 27 of 32 matches, including seven 20+ kill matches. Hanson had 10-or-more kills in each of her last 15 matches of the year and led the team with 4.57 points and 4.01 kills per set. Among Big Ten pins, Hanson ranked seventh in kills per set and third in hitting percentage (.268). Her 473 kills ranked sixth in the league. She earned two Big Ten Player of the Week awards and won AVCA Player of the Week on Dec. 3. Hanson was the first Gopher to earn the distinction since Nov. 22, 2022.
Lydia Grote improved with the help of Jones Schoonderwoerd in in 2024. She earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as an opposite after being on the second team in 2023. The former California transfer ranked second on the team with 3.60 points, 2.90 kills and 0.30 aces per set (35 aces). She tallied more points (3.40 to 3.60), kills (2.68 to 2.90) digs (1.03 to 1.45) per set than she did in 2023.
Jones Schoonderwoerd spent the 2023 season at California as the team’s interim head coach after taking over two weeks before the regular season started. She was hired as assistant coach before the former head coach stepped down in July of 2023. Under her leadership, Cal earned its first winning record since 2019 (and its second in a decade), finishing the year at 16-15 (5-15 Pac-12) with an undefeated 11-0 non-conference record.
"Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd has been a champion at every level and every discipline of the sport of volleyball,” head coach Keegan Cook said. “It was a privilege to coach an athlete of her character and competitive passion. She is the exact mentor and coach I was seeking in this hire. I'm looking forward to sharing Crissy with the Gopher volleyball community and I thank her and her family for joining the program.”
Jones Schoonderwoerd was recognized as a Volleyball Magazine College Coaching Hotshot. She helped several Bears achieve significant improvements, including All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention athletes Tara DeSa and Annalea Maeder. DeSa led the conference in both digs and digs per set, posting the fourth-most digs (513) in a single season in the program’s history, while Maeder tied for the 10th-most service aces (46) in Cal history while recording her first career 1,000-assist season. Both received All-Pac-12 honors for the first time in their careers.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Minnesota volleyball coaching staff," Schoonderwoerd said. "I am eager to work with such talented athletes and coaches. I look forward to getting plugged in and building relationships with the entire Gopher volleyball family. It’s exciting to be a part of an incredible university with goals of competing for championships while providing an incredible student-athlete experience."
Also at Cal, she guided freshman Maggie Li through a historic debut season in which she earned the program’s first AVCA Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year award and was the only freshman to also receive All-Region honors (Honorable Mention). Li was just the third freshman in program history to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Year status and was the only freshman to make the main All-Pac-12 Team. She was also named a Volleyball Magazine All-American Honorable Mention after the season, the first freshman in program history to earn that honor.
Jones Schoonderwoerd heads to Minnesota with a strong collegiate and professional résumé as a player. A native of Long Beach, Calif., she played for four years at Washington under Keegan Cook, earning an AVCA All-American nod as well as three All-Pac-12 honors. She helped the program appear in two Elite Eights.
She was later named an All-American while playing beach volleyball at Cal Poly as a graduate student, leading the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and making her just the second player in NCAA history to earn All-American distinction in both indoor and beach volleyball. Post-graduation, she played for three years on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach volleyball tour, earning a Rookie of the Year nomination in 2019, while also playing on Team USA in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) world beach volleyball tour.
“Having played for coach Cook and understanding his goals and values, I knew I wanted to be a part of what he is building at Minnesota alongside coach Kelsay and coach Mendes. I’m so grateful to coach Cook, Julie Manning and Mark Coyle for welcoming me on board. I can’t wait to get in the gym with this team," she said.
