Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Aganus gets to share volleyball home opener with mentor
9/25/2019 10:00:00 PM | Volleyball, Word on the Herd
Marshall coach played for Southern Mississippi's Radecki in college
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – For first-year Marshall volleyball coach Ari Aganus, consider it serendipitous scheduling.
Aganus knew her inaugural season on the sidelines would not feature an official appearance at the Henderson Center for quite some time. In fact, the Thundering Herd is 9-4 – 13 games into the regular season – and will finally compete in its home opener this Friday night at 6 against Southern Mississippi.
When Aganus saw that team lurking first on the schedule, she knew the night would even be more special. That's because Stephanie Radecki, who is in her second season at USM, coached Aganus at Division II North Alabama, and then Aganus spent two seasons as a graduate assistant on Radecki's staff. Now, in a milestone night for Aganus, she'll have a dear friend in the building.
"My first reaction when I saw the schedule was to reach out to her," Aganus said. "It was a surreal feeling. It was excitement and nerves all at the same time to be able to open at home with her, which is amazing, because of the respect I have for her. To be able to have that moment with her is awesome. It doesn't get better than that."
Aganus is a native of Shannon, Illinois. She initially played at junior college powerhouse Kishwaukee before transferring to play for Radecki at North Alabama.
Last January, Radecki landed the job at Southern Miss. This past January, Aganus joined her mentor in Conference USA. They knew they'd eventually meet on the court, but these circumstances are unique.
"I respect everything she does," Aganus said. "I look up to her. I always have. She's tough but she's fair, and she's resilient and a strong female role model that I have had for 10 years now."
They're so close that Radecki is one the people Aganus uses as a reference. Before Aganus was officially announced as Marshall's new head coach, Radecki, of course, knew her former player was landing a job in the same league.
"She's every piece of my journey and has always helped me and guided me and had a lot of great things to say about Conference USA and her transition into it," Aganus said. "She's usually the second call after my mom."
The first season for Aganus has been impressive. The Herd put together a five-match winning streak from Sept. 6 to Sept. 14, beating Georgetown, Stony Brook, Northern Kentucky, Tennessee at Martin and Saint Louis. The last four of those wins were sweeps. Marshall was named the champions of the Billiken Invitational, and swept its final two matches at the Comfort Inn-vitational at Morehead State to wrap up non-conference play.
The Herd played all 13 non-conference matches on the road. Now, Aganus gets to see what her team is made of against C-USA competition, and gets to do it with her college coach watching from the other bench.
"I hope that I am respected as we respected her," Aganus said. "There was never a time she would let us fall below the standard of being great, and that meant on and off the court. It was not just about winning. It was because she held us to that standard we were very successful on the court. We always knew we could go to her. We always knew she was an advocate for us.
"Once you're in her life, no matter what capacity, she will fight for you until the end of time. I hope that I am that. I hope that I am loyal to my kids the way that I know she is to us."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
