Coaching Staff

Nicole Solum is entering her fifth season as an assistant coach for the Winona State volleyball team in 2018.

 

The Warriors posted their third-straight 20-win season in 2017, an accomplishment that had only been achieved over one over span in program history (1986-88). Winona State went 21-8 (15-5 NSIC) with an undefeated regular season road record. Despite being ranked within the AVCA Top 25 all year, the Warriors' hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season was denied as Winona State fell just outside the regional bubble. Seniors McKenna Larsen and Danielle Rampart each earned AVCA All-American honorable mention nods.

 

The 2016 campaign was historic for Winona State as the Warriors reached the NCAA Division II Regional for the first time in program history. WSU went 27-6 overall (the most wins since 1990) and 16-4 in the highly-competitive NSIC. Junior setter McKenna Larsen became the team's first-ever NCAA DII All-American, earning honorable mention recognition from the AVCA.

 

The Warriors continued to show improvement in her second season, reaching the NSIC Championship game. The team won 20 matches in 2015, a feat which had not been accomplished since 1993,  and were ranked 22nd in the final AVCA Poll. During the season the Warriors had four wins over top-ten ranked opponents on the year.

 

In her first season with the Warriors in 2014, Solum - along side fellow first-year head coach Joe Getzin - quickly saw positive results, guiding a young WSU squad to a 19-8 record and the fifth seed in the NSIC Tournament. Solum helped coach true freshman Danielle Rampart to first-team All-NSIC honors and AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year accolades.

 

In 2015 she was on staff as the Warriors continued to show improvement. Winona State had wins over highly ranked opponents and advanced to the NSIC Championship. 

 

A native of Spokane, Wash., Solum spent the 2013 season as both an assistant coach and interim head coach at Valley City State University in Valley City, N.D.  She coached the Vikings' Aurissa Martens, who received AVCA All-Region First Team All-American and North Star Most Valuable Senior recognition.

 

Solum has ties to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as both a coach and a player.  She was a graduate assistant for the Bemidji State University volleyball team for two seasons, where she was responsible for team practices, game film, recruiting, study hall and working camps and clinics throughout the year. Prior to that, she was a three-year player for the Beavers, spending the last two as team captain.

 

Prior to her playing career at Bemidji State, she played her freshman season at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore.