Rachel Ferguson
Assistant Coach
Lipscomb volleyball head coach Brandon Rosenthal announced on May 7, 2019 the addition of Rachel Ferguson as an assistant coach.
“I am very excited about the addition or Rachel to our staff,” Rosenthal said. “She brings with her a tremendous amount of experience and a lot of knowledge about our team and program at Lipscomb.
“A lot of her experiences have been things that most coaches don’t get to in their careers until they get into a full-time position. Everyone we talked to couldn’t say enough about her as a person and how eager she is to come to work each day. I can’t wait to get her in here next week and start working.”
Ferguson comes to a Lipscomb program that has won six ASUN Conference titles and earned seven NCAA Tournament appearances in 16 seasons under Rosenthal. She replaces the loss of assistant Stephanie Ross, who spent one season with the Bisons.
“I am super excited to be a part of the staff at Lipscomb,” Ferguson said. “I’ve always been a fan of what Brandon has built there, so it’s been really cool to watch from afar and see the success of the program.
“Brandon and Nate (Thompson) are such great people, so to be offered the opportunity to be a part of this program, it is a huge honor. I want to help leave my mark on the program and I can’t wait to get started.”
Ferguson already has a unique relationship with Lipscomb volleyball as her sister, Kelsey, served as the team’s athletic trainer for four seasons from 2014-18.
“She knew a lot about our team and our program well beyond the interview process itself,” Rosenthal said. “Over the years as we’ve kind of gotten to know each other, I had loved the energy and drive she brings to the table.”
Ferguson ventures to Nashville after spending one season with Indiana University as the volunteer assistant coach. In February alongside IU head coach Steve Aird, she was instrumental in helping build Indiana Volleyball Training - a business that includes more than 20 different camps for the Hoosiers program. Her job was to run the camp programing and create opportunities in the community.
Prior to arriving in Bloomington, Ferguson began working with USA Volleyball’s Collegiate National Team (CNT) as the Technical Coordinator in 2017. She provided video analysis through an advanced technical system that allows every touch to be graded.
“I got to sit in the gym and listen to some of the best coaches in the country and be around the national team staff,” Ferguson said. “My experiences through that have already helped me become a better coach by absorbing what they were teaching.”
Ferguson worked with USA Volleyball again in February for the College National Team tryouts.
Rosenthal felt her experiences with DataVolley for USA Volleyball provided a great opportunity to add a dimension the program has never had.
“She brings a technical side of things that we don’t have,” Rosenthal said. “We have to be looking to evolve and not think this is what we’ve always done. I encourage my staff to push me and I push them to get better.”
Ferguson directly worked with the CNT team that featured former Bison libero Brittany Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2017.
“It was cool to be able to hang out with Brittany and learn about her and more about what Lipscomb volleyball is all about,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson also had a two-year stop at Grand Canyon University as the Director of Operations from 2016-18 where she managed the day-to-day operations for its women’s indoor volleyball program. She also assisted the men’s volleyball and beach volleyball programs at the director of each head coach.
“Rachel will oversee the travel and operations side after having that experience with Grand Canyon,” Rosenthal said. “She has phenomenal ideas and she is a highly organized person. We are going to be a better program with Rachel a part of it.”
Before her time at GCU, Ferguson served as an assistant coach at North Carolina Central University for the 2015-16 season. She also served as an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach in 2013 and 2014 at the University of Dubuque.
Ferguson was a four-year letter winner at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio where she recorded 2,551 assists from the setter position. She helped guide the Student Princes to three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season championships, one OAC Tournament Championship and four consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
She was a three-time floor captain, a team captain as a senior and compiled a career record of 111-35.
Ferguson’s primary role will be working with the setters and helping the offensive side in-game.
“The setting role is a unique one because you are the quarterback of the team and a leader,” Ferguson said. “I want to pass down what I’ve learned on and off the court. I will be able to help Morgan (Elmore) and our incoming setters through a lot of situations both in practice and mid-match.”
Ferguson graduated from Heidelberg with a Bachelor of Arts degree in media communications in 2013. She then completed her Master of Business Administration at Dubuque in 2015.
“When you talk about the LUV brand it’s amazing to think about how we built it from nothing,” Rosenthal said. “It will be nice to get a fresh set of eyes in here that has seen three or four programs and will bring new ideas.”