Head Coach Chris Herron Email
 Few coaches can claim the kind of program turnaround that Chris Herron can claim he has had at Washburn. In his four years the Lady Blues have won their first two conference championships and went to their first three NCAA tournaments. Herron has garnered two MIAA coach of the year awards and has seen his players claim All-America honors four times and all-region status 11 times.
The Washburn volleyball program had a .389 winning percentage as an NCAA II team before Herron started in 2002. Since then he has turned that around with an .826 winning percentage. He has built the team into the second winningest MIAA program since 2002, he has set the school record for wins in a season and he has turned a team that had just three winning seasons in the last 15 years before he got here to one that has become a dominant force in the region.
This year he will look to extend the Lady Blues’ success beyond the conference and region and make their first trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight.
The Willard, Mo., native is 119-25 (.859) in his four years at Washburn and 194-54 in seven years as a college coach, working three seasons at Benedictine before coming to Washburn.
Last year he led the Lady Blues to 35 wins, a school-record .921 winning percentage and a conference championship with a 15-1 MIAA mark, earning coach of the year honors. Washburn made its third trip to the NCAA tournament and Monica Miesner and Tessa Jones became the second and third WU players to be named All-Americans. The Lady Blues were ranked in the top 10 the final 11 weeks of the season, peaking at 7 and finishing at 10.
In his first season, Herron took the Washburn program to new heights winning its first MIAA championship and making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament with a 29-5 record as he gained his first MIAA coach of the year award. The Lady Blues entered the AVCA top-25 for the first time in school history during the 2002 season.
In his second season in 2003, Herron led Washburn to a 26-10 record. The Lady Blues started 15-1 and were ranked as high as No. 19 in the country before injuries derailed their shot at postseason play.
Herron led the Lady Blues to their first NCAA tournament victory with a 3-1 win over Harding in the first round of the 2004 tournament.
Herron was named head coach of the Washburn volleyball team March 25, 2002. He spent the previous three seasons as the head coach of Benedictine College, where he compiled a 75-29 record. After going 13-15 in his first year in 1999, Herron guided the Ravens to their first-ever Heart of America Athletic Conference title and the squad’s highest win total ever with a 30-8 record in 2000.
He led the Ravens to a 32-6 record last fall and garnered HAAC coach of the year honors for the second straight season. The squad also won its first-ever HAAC conference tournament championship in 2001. Benedictine also cracked the national top 25 poll for the first time in school history, by finishing 23rd in the final NAIA ranking.
Herron spent 13 years prior to going to Benedictine as the head coach at Tonganoxie High School. During that time Herron’s teams posted an overall record of 366-88. He began his coaching career at Golden City High School in Golden City, Mo., where he posted a 21-17 record in two seasons from 1984-85.
Two of his teams received the state’s highest award of “Program of the Year” in 1989 and 1996 from the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association. He also led four of his teams to the state tournament.
Herron also coached USAV juniors volleyball for 14 winters. His last two teams were Heart of America Region 18 champions. His teams have made four national tournament appearances, in 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001.
He is a 1980 graduate of the College of the Ozarks, where he earned a bachelor’s of science in physical education.
Herron lives in Topeka with his wife, Julie, daughter Libby and sons Thatcher Cole and Jordan.
 Complete bio
Assistant Coach
Trent Jones email
 Trent Jones begins his third season as assistant coach for the Washburn Lady Blues. Prior to joining the Lady Blues’ coaching staff, Jones served as a volunteer assistant for the University of Kansas volleyball team.
He played collegiality at Columbia College and Graceland University as a defensive specialist.
At Columbia College, Jones was a member of the 2000 NAIA national championship team. He transferred to Graceland, where he played three seasons and graduated in 2002.
Jones is a native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., and graduated from Archbishop O’Hara High School in 1998. He currently resides in Lawrence, Kan. and was married in June, 2005 to Erica Hood.
Jones’ younger sister Tessa is a sophomore on the Lady Blues volleyball squad.
Along with helping with recruiting, Jones will run the Lady Blues new computer program that will help with scouting film. He will also assist with game-plan strategies and provide on-court training.
Complete bio
Graduate Assistant Coach
Dani McHenry
 After finishing her volleyball playing career in 2004 and then using up her last year of basketball eligibility in 2005-06, Dani McHenry became the Lady Blues volleyball graduate assistant coach at the start of this season.
McHenry was a two-time AVCA All-American and her honor in 2003 was the first ever for a Washburn player.
While at Washburn she helped lead the Lady Blues to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2002 and they repeated that in 2004, advancing to the second round. She also helped WU win its first MIAA title in 2002. To go with her All-American honors, McHenry also earned first-team all-region recognition twice and three first-team all-MIAA honors.
McHenry also played basketball for her father, Ron McHenry, and was with the Lady Blues as they won four conference titles and a national championship in 2004-05.
McHenry graduated from WU with a bachelor’s degree in 2005 and she will work towards a master’s degree. McHenry is engaged to former Washburn baseball player Jesse Schmidt.
Complete bio
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