Jo-Leigh VerVelde is entering her third season at Gardner-Webb and first as the program's assistant coach in 2020.
VerVelde spent the previous two years as GWU’s graduate assistant coach, joining the Runnin’ Bulldogs prior to the 2018 season.
VerVelde has also compiled a wealth of coaching experience at the club level, most recently as the head coach of the Shelby Carolina Chaos club in Shelby, N.C. in 2019. She was also the head coach of the Black Bears volleyball club in Cullowhee, N.C. in 2018.
VerVelde also interned with the Western Carolina Catamount club team in the summer of 2016 and with the Milwaukee Sting Volleyball club in Milwaukee, Wic. during the summer of 2018, and has spent numerous summers as a camp coach with the Milwaukee Sting volleyball camp.
VerVelde arrived in Boiling Springs after completing her playing career at nearby Western Carolina in 2017. She finished her collegiate career ranked in the top-10 in nine different career categories at WCU, including first in service attempts (1,721), fifth in serve percentage (.953), seventh in assist percentage (.343), tied for seventh in digs (1,297), eighth in assists (2,923) and assists per set (6.70), ninth in service aces (118) and block assists (223) and tenth in digs per set (2.97).
She was also a standout in the classroom, earning Southern Conference Fall Academic All-Conference team honors on three occasions.
A native of Oostburg, Wis., VerVelde helped lead Oostburg High School to two WIAA Division 3 state championships. She was named to the State Tournament All-Tournament team on two occasions and was also a two-time MaxPreps Small School All-American and two-time Prep Volleyball High School All-American.
VerVelde will earn her Masters in Business Administration from Gardner-Webb in May. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Sport Management at Western Carolina in 2017.
