CHEYNEY, PA – When the Clarion University women’s volleyball team defeated Cheyney 3-0 Saturday night, it was win No. 133 for Clarion’s sixth-year head coach Jennifer Mills, making her the all-time leader for the Golden Eagles.
“A record like that only comes from the hard work of the athletes,” Mills, who is 133-52, said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have athletes who are willing to work hard toward specific goals.”
Mills tops the previous school record of 132 wins set by Tracey Fluharty, who coached Clarion from 2001-05. Fluharty had a career mark of 132-52, meaning her and Mills had the exact same record through the exact same amount of games when the Golden Eagles beat Kutztown 3-0 Saturday morning.
During Mills’ tenure with Clarion, she had led the Golden Eagles to four NCAA Division II playoff berths including the school’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2010. That season, Clarion won a school-record 32 matches (32-5) and won the school’s second PSAC title, first PSAC West title and first NCAA Division II Atlantic Region crown. Clarion has appeared in the PSAC semifinals in each of the last three years and has won 25 or more matches under Mills three times.
With a career winning percentage of .719 following the win over Cheyney, Mills has the second-best winning percentage in school history behind the ledgendary Fran Shope (.789) and just ahead of Fluharty (.717).
At Clarion, Mills has coached one Honoroable Mention All-American (Kellie Bartman), one PSAC West Athlete of the Year (Bartman), one PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year (Rhianon Brady), one Capital One Academic All-American (Brady) and numberous All-Conference and All-Region players, including Brady, who is the only volleyball player in school history to earn All-Region honors in all four seasons.
On the year, Clarion is 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC West with a young, inexperienced team. The Golden Eagles host Slippery Rock at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
