Nike Volleyball Camp at Colorado College

Sharon Dingman enters her third season as the head coach of the Colorado College volleyball program in the fall of 2023.

Dingman has led the Tigers to a 51-15 record in her two seasons in Colorado Springs and guided the team to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in her first year. Last season, the Tigers advanced to the championship match of the SCAC Tournament.

Dingman brought 30 years of experience to CC at both the Division I and Division III levels, including six seasons at UChicago. Under Dingman’s direction, the Maroons enjoyed unparalleled success during her six-season tenure. Her teams posted a combined 144-55 (.724) overall record, a 41-19 (.693) mark in the UAA, and earned five NCAA Tournament appearances. The University of Chicago competes in the University Athletic Association, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation.

During the program’s history-making 2019 season, UChicago won 23 consecutive matches and was ranked No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coaches Top-25 poll for the first time in program history. The Maroons also advanced to the regional final of the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and finished the year with a 28-4 ledger and a program-record .875 winning percentage.

In recognition of those accomplishments, Dingman was named AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year and was part of the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year for the third time.

The 2019 season was the culmination of a five-year process that included several other achievements and milestones for Dingman and her program. The previous year, she led the Maroons to a 29-5 record, which included her 100th victory at UChicago as well as her 500th career win. In her Windy City debut in 2015, Dingman led the Maroons to a 26-13 and an at-large NCAA tournament berth.

Not only can the Tigers expect team success under Dingman, they also will benefit from her proven ability to develop players. Under Dingman’s tutelage, UChicago student-athletes combined for the program’s first three AVCA All-America honors as well as 21 all-UAA selections, including 13 first-team selections.

Dingman’s Division I experience includes head-coaching stints at the University of Iowa (2008-13), Illinois State University (2000-07), Butler University (1992-99) and Auburn University (1991-92). She also served as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky (1988-90), Texas Tech University (1985-87) and Northern Michigan University (1984-85).

While at Iowa, her 2008 squad won 14 matches overall and six in the Big Ten, the most by the Hawkeyes since 2000. She led Illinois State to seven winning seasons in eight years, and the 2007 Redbirds earned an at-large NCAA tournament berth for the first time in 10 years.

Dingman played two seasons at Purdue University where she was a member of Big Ten championship teams in 1979 and 1980, and her final two years at Northern Michigan, where she served as team captain in 1982 and 1983, and was the team’s MVP in 1983.

Dingman earned her bachelor's degree in health education from Northern Michigan and completed her master's coursework at the University of Kentucky.

Chad Koenegstein joined the Colorado College volleyball staff in 2018 and has filled important roles on and off the court during what has been the program’s most successful era.

During Koenegstein’s tenure, the Tigers have amassed a 132-23 overall record, good for a .876 winning percentage, won a pair of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship each season.

He was recently named a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Thirty Under 30 Award. First presented in 2009, the AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award honors up-and-coming volleyball coaching talent at all levels of the sport.

During the 2021 spring season, the Tigers earned the No. 1 ranking in the America Volleyball Coaches Associations Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll when they posted a 17-0 record, the first undefeated season in program history.

Koenegstein has coached three CC players who earned All-America Honors – Lizzy Counts (2018-19), Marguerite Spaethling (2018), and Georgia Mullins (2021-22), while Jenny Jenks (2021-22, 22-23), Mullins (2019), and Isabella Lipacis (2022-23) earned honorable mention status.

At the same time, Tigers earned three of the four SCAC major awards, including multiple recipients of Player of the Year (Spaethling, Mullins), Setter of the Year (Isabelle Aragon-Menzel, Jenks), and Freshman of the Year (Meaghan Hohman, Isabella Lipacis) awards.

Colorado College also excelled in the classroom, earning the AVCA’s Team Academic Award each season and having more than 80 percent of its players earn a spot on the SCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to his arrival at Colorado College, Koenegstein worked at USA Volleyball for two years in coaching education.

He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs during the 2017 season.

Koenegstein earned his bachelor’s in elementary education from Murray State University in 2013 and currently is pursuing a master’s in sport coaching at the University of Denver.