Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball
Aganus, Ari
Ari Aganus
- Title:
- Head Volleyball Coach, 5th season
- Email:
- aganus@marshall.edu
- Phone:
- 3980
Head coach Ari Aganus finished her sixth season at the helm for Marshall in the fall of 2024.
During the 2024 season, Aganus led The Herd to a 15-14 record with Brynn Brown ranking eighth nationally in triple-doubles at four and Beatrice Ciccarelli ranking sixth in the Sun Belt Conference with 110 blocks.Â
Aganus has more than 60 wins at Marshall, earning her 50th career win a four-set victory over UNC Greensboro on Sept. 1, 2023.
In 2023, Marshall continued its improvement on defense ranking 26th nationally in total digs with 1,912 and 47th in the country at 15.93 per set. Setter Brynn Brown registered five triple-doubles during the campaign, fourth most in Division I women's volleyball. Essence Clerkley 307.5 points on 239 kills while being in on 87 blocks, 20 solo and 75 block assists. The graduate student's .286 hitting percentage ranked 10th in the Sun Belt.Â
In 2022, The Herd ranked in top five in the Sun Belt in digs per set (15.11) and total digs (1,723). Lydia Montague was named second-team all-Sun Belt as her 119 blocks led Marshall and ranked third in the Sun Belt with her 1.06 rejections per match ranking fourth, while ranking second on the squad at 366 points and tied for second with 274 kills with a team-best .305 hitting percentage.
In 2021, Marshall continued to show that it is one of the best blocking teams in the nation as throughout the year the Herd ranked in the top 10 in total blocks and top 30 in blocks per set. Under Aganus’ coaching, Ciara DeBell was named First Team All-C-USA over her last three years and joined the 1,000 Kills/1,000 Digs Club in her collegiate career. Sarah Schank became the 14th member of Marshall’s 1,000 Digs Club in a career and Destiny Leon became the first player in program history to record at least 1.00 block per set in a season three times, all while playing for Aganus.
The Herd continued to show improvement and fight in the spring of 2021, after the fall of 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19. Marshall finished 10-5 and 8-4 in C-USA play. By the end of the year, the Herd was honored with the C-USA Libero of the Year (Sarah Schank), the Defensive Player of the Year (Destiny Leon), and four players were named All-Conference. Ciara Debell, a First Team All-C-USA selection, was also honored as Second Team All-South Region. Off the court, nine players were listed on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, two received the Academic Medal and Schank was an All-Academic selection.
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In her first season in 2019, coach Aganus led the Herd to an 18-9 overall record, and eight-win turnaround from the previous season. The improvement of eight wins is tied for the seventh-best turnaround in program history. She also led Marshall to a 9-5 finish in Conference USA action and the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Tournament after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Herd ended the regular season with a six-match winning streak including two comeback victories on the road at FIU and Florida Atlantic.
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Marshall saw one of its biggest improvements at the net as the Herd finished the year 12th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.80). Marshall was ranked as high as third in the country in blocks on October 2. The Herd’s top two players in blocks, Isa Dostal and Destiny Leon, finished first and second in C-USA in blocks per set as the two players far surpassed their blocking totals from a year ago. Marshall’s 283 total team blocks was the most by a Herd team since the 2003 squad. The Thundering Herd’s 2019 block party included its first 20-plus team block performance (22 at Morehead State) since 2003, most matches with 10 or more blocks (16) since 2003 and the first time since 2006 with two players totaling over 100 blocks each for the year. Marshall players also totaled 10 or more blocks individually in a contest five times in 2019, a feat that was accomplished just four times between 2007 and 2018.
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Under the first-year coach’s tutelage, senior Amber Weber and redshirt junior Ciara Debell also enjoyed banner seasons. Weber, the team’s defensive and vocal leader, recorded almost 500 digs and ended her career as Marshall’s all-time leader in digs per set (4.05). Debell was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times, first team all-conference and All-South Region. Debell’s all-around numbers helped the Herd to the eight-win improvement as she tallied 422 kills, 254 digs and 76 blocks.
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Herd players etched their names into the Marshall single-season record book in eight places in 2019 under coach Aganus.
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Aganus, a native of Shannon, Illinois, comes to Huntington after three seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Grand Canyon University. The Lopes compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and are based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Aganus served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of San Francisco for the 2015 season, where the Dons went 17-14, including a 13-match winning streak and tournament wins in the San Francisco Invitational, Utah State Invitational, St. John's Kaiser Classic and San Francisco Challenge.
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Prior to San Francisco, Aganus was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson. In her lone season with the Tigers, Aganus helped guide the squad to an 18-13 overall record and assisted in the addition of five newcomers to the ACC mainstay. Prior to her stint working with the Tigers, Aganus spent a season at Wofford, working primarily with the defensive specialists while also serving as the team's recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and film specialist. That season, the Terriers advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time in seven seasons.
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Aganus worked as a graduate assistant at North Alabama in 2011 and 2012, where she mentored the outside hitters. Aganus also played two seasons at North Alabama, earning a degree in communications and claiming an All-Gulf South Conference nod as a senior. North Alabama went to the NCAA Division II Tournament in both of her seasons competing for the Lions.
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Prior to closing her collegiate playing career at North Alabama, Aganus helped lead Kishwaukee College (Ill.) to its third consecutive NJCAA Division II National Championship. She was team captain and All-Arrowhead Conference selection during the championship season, which culminated not only in the title but also with a jaw-dropping overall record of 56-3.
You can follow Coach Aganus on Twitter at @AriAganus.Â
Ari Aganus Coaching Record
2019 - Marshall, 18-10 (9-5 C-USA), No. 4 seed C-USA Tourn.
2020 - Marshall, 10-5 (8-4 C-USA), No 3 seed East Division C-USA Tourn. (fall season was played in spring 2021 due to COVID-19)
2021 - Marshall, 9-16 (5-7 C-USA)
2022 - Marshall, 10-20 (3-13 Sun Belt)
2023 - Marshall, 13-19 (4-12 Sun Belt)
Overall Record: 60-70 (.462), 7-25 (.219) Sun Belt Record, 22-16Â (.579) C-USA Record
During the 2024 season, Aganus led The Herd to a 15-14 record with Brynn Brown ranking eighth nationally in triple-doubles at four and Beatrice Ciccarelli ranking sixth in the Sun Belt Conference with 110 blocks.Â
Aganus has more than 60 wins at Marshall, earning her 50th career win a four-set victory over UNC Greensboro on Sept. 1, 2023.
In 2023, Marshall continued its improvement on defense ranking 26th nationally in total digs with 1,912 and 47th in the country at 15.93 per set. Setter Brynn Brown registered five triple-doubles during the campaign, fourth most in Division I women's volleyball. Essence Clerkley 307.5 points on 239 kills while being in on 87 blocks, 20 solo and 75 block assists. The graduate student's .286 hitting percentage ranked 10th in the Sun Belt.Â
In 2022, The Herd ranked in top five in the Sun Belt in digs per set (15.11) and total digs (1,723). Lydia Montague was named second-team all-Sun Belt as her 119 blocks led Marshall and ranked third in the Sun Belt with her 1.06 rejections per match ranking fourth, while ranking second on the squad at 366 points and tied for second with 274 kills with a team-best .305 hitting percentage.
In 2021, Marshall continued to show that it is one of the best blocking teams in the nation as throughout the year the Herd ranked in the top 10 in total blocks and top 30 in blocks per set. Under Aganus’ coaching, Ciara DeBell was named First Team All-C-USA over her last three years and joined the 1,000 Kills/1,000 Digs Club in her collegiate career. Sarah Schank became the 14th member of Marshall’s 1,000 Digs Club in a career and Destiny Leon became the first player in program history to record at least 1.00 block per set in a season three times, all while playing for Aganus.
The Herd continued to show improvement and fight in the spring of 2021, after the fall of 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19. Marshall finished 10-5 and 8-4 in C-USA play. By the end of the year, the Herd was honored with the C-USA Libero of the Year (Sarah Schank), the Defensive Player of the Year (Destiny Leon), and four players were named All-Conference. Ciara Debell, a First Team All-C-USA selection, was also honored as Second Team All-South Region. Off the court, nine players were listed on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, two received the Academic Medal and Schank was an All-Academic selection.
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In her first season in 2019, coach Aganus led the Herd to an 18-9 overall record, and eight-win turnaround from the previous season. The improvement of eight wins is tied for the seventh-best turnaround in program history. She also led Marshall to a 9-5 finish in Conference USA action and the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Tournament after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Herd ended the regular season with a six-match winning streak including two comeback victories on the road at FIU and Florida Atlantic.
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Marshall saw one of its biggest improvements at the net as the Herd finished the year 12th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.80). Marshall was ranked as high as third in the country in blocks on October 2. The Herd’s top two players in blocks, Isa Dostal and Destiny Leon, finished first and second in C-USA in blocks per set as the two players far surpassed their blocking totals from a year ago. Marshall’s 283 total team blocks was the most by a Herd team since the 2003 squad. The Thundering Herd’s 2019 block party included its first 20-plus team block performance (22 at Morehead State) since 2003, most matches with 10 or more blocks (16) since 2003 and the first time since 2006 with two players totaling over 100 blocks each for the year. Marshall players also totaled 10 or more blocks individually in a contest five times in 2019, a feat that was accomplished just four times between 2007 and 2018.
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Under the first-year coach’s tutelage, senior Amber Weber and redshirt junior Ciara Debell also enjoyed banner seasons. Weber, the team’s defensive and vocal leader, recorded almost 500 digs and ended her career as Marshall’s all-time leader in digs per set (4.05). Debell was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times, first team all-conference and All-South Region. Debell’s all-around numbers helped the Herd to the eight-win improvement as she tallied 422 kills, 254 digs and 76 blocks.
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Herd players etched their names into the Marshall single-season record book in eight places in 2019 under coach Aganus.
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Aganus, a native of Shannon, Illinois, comes to Huntington after three seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Grand Canyon University. The Lopes compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and are based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Aganus served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of San Francisco for the 2015 season, where the Dons went 17-14, including a 13-match winning streak and tournament wins in the San Francisco Invitational, Utah State Invitational, St. John's Kaiser Classic and San Francisco Challenge.
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Prior to San Francisco, Aganus was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson. In her lone season with the Tigers, Aganus helped guide the squad to an 18-13 overall record and assisted in the addition of five newcomers to the ACC mainstay. Prior to her stint working with the Tigers, Aganus spent a season at Wofford, working primarily with the defensive specialists while also serving as the team's recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and film specialist. That season, the Terriers advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time in seven seasons.
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Aganus worked as a graduate assistant at North Alabama in 2011 and 2012, where she mentored the outside hitters. Aganus also played two seasons at North Alabama, earning a degree in communications and claiming an All-Gulf South Conference nod as a senior. North Alabama went to the NCAA Division II Tournament in both of her seasons competing for the Lions.
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Prior to closing her collegiate playing career at North Alabama, Aganus helped lead Kishwaukee College (Ill.) to its third consecutive NJCAA Division II National Championship. She was team captain and All-Arrowhead Conference selection during the championship season, which culminated not only in the title but also with a jaw-dropping overall record of 56-3.
You can follow Coach Aganus on Twitter at @AriAganus.Â
Ari Aganus Coaching Record
2019 - Marshall, 18-10 (9-5 C-USA), No. 4 seed C-USA Tourn.
2020 - Marshall, 10-5 (8-4 C-USA), No 3 seed East Division C-USA Tourn. (fall season was played in spring 2021 due to COVID-19)
2021 - Marshall, 9-16 (5-7 C-USA)
2022 - Marshall, 10-20 (3-13 Sun Belt)
2023 - Marshall, 13-19 (4-12 Sun Belt)
Overall Record: 60-70 (.462), 7-25 (.219) Sun Belt Record, 22-16Â (.579) C-USA Record
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