Heather Hayes concluded her 12th season as head coach of the Indiana University Kokomo volleyball team in the fall of 2024. Hayes holds a 358-96 overall record heading into the 2025 season, including a 166-16 conference mark.
2024 Season
- Cougars continued their tradition of excellence, finishing with a 33-6 overall record and a 16-0 mark in River States Conference play
- IU Kokomo advanced to the RSC Tournament final and earned its seventh consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearance under Coach Hayes
- Cougars hosted and beat (RV) Indiana Tech in an NAIA Opening Round match before going 1-1 at the final site in Sioux City, where they earned a second-consecutive "Sweet 16" finish
2023 Season
- Hayes led the Cougars to a 34-4 record and a 19-0 mark in conference action securing a share of the RSC regular season championship
- The Cougars hosted Morningside in an NAIA Opening Round match to advance to the final site once again, where the Cougars beat #23 Oklahoma Wesleyan and fell to the eventual National Champions #2 Indiana Wesleyan in the final pool play match
2022 Season
- Featured another dominant performance by the Cougars, who posted a 30-7 overall record and went 16-2-0 in conference play
- IU Kokomo claimed both the RSC regular season and tournament titles, advancing to the NAIA National Tournament,
2021 Season
- IU Kokomo recorded a 28-9 overall record and a 16-1 mark in RSC play
- The Cougars swept their way through the RSC Tournament Championship and earned another bid to the NAIA National Tournament
- Hayes’ squad was nationally ranked for much of the season, continuing to build on the standard of excellence established during her tenure
2020 Season
- IUK won both the regular season and conference tournament crowns, the third time in program history the Cougars have done so
- The season brought many challenges with COVID-19 forcing the championship season to the spring of 2021
- Despite the adversity, the Cougars finished with a 26-4 overall record and a perfect 13-0 mark in conference play
- The Cougars hosted the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament, defeating Aquinas College to advance to Sioux City, Iowa
- After an opening round loss, the Cougars picked up their first-ever victory at the final site, a 3-2 victory over Keiser University
2019 Season
- The Cougars finished with an overall record of 27-14 and a 13-3 mark in RSC action
- Three players were named First Team All-Conference in Macee Rudy, Erinn Adam, and Elizabeth Sokeland
- Rudy was named Libero of the Year while Nyssa Baker earned Player of the Year honors
- Rudy and Sokeland earned AVCA All-Region honors while Rudy was named the AVCA/NAIA Defender of the Year
2017 and 2018 Seasons
- The Cougars were able to also capture the conference tournament championship, which aided in them getting to host the first round of the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history
- The team extended their National Tournament appearance streak to four, winning conference for four consecutive seasons
- The success of the team helped Hayes earn some local and national recognition as she was named River States Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her six seasons, as well as AVCA Midcentral Region Coach of the Year
- In the classroom, the volleyball team also performed quite well, capturing the AVCA Team Academic Award and NAIA Scholar-Team recognition in 2017 and the Chancellor’s Cup in 2018.
2016 Season
- Cougars clinched an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament after winning the River States Conference tournament and going 27-10 during the regular season
- During this season, the IU Kokomo volleyball program reached its 100th win, as Hayes also reached a personal milestone when securing her 100th win as a college coach
- The Cougars advanced through the first round of the National Tournament and received votes for the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 final ballot, finishing 33rd in the country
2015 Season
- The IU Kokomo volleyball program had a record-setting season under Coach Hayes, who was recognized as Coach of the Year for the second year in a row
- The team earned the school’s first bid to an NAIA National Tournament after setting a school record for the most wins in a season (34-5, 11-1 KIAC) and most consecutive wins in a season (19)
- The Cougars also won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletics Conference regular season and the conference tournament for the first time ever
- In the classroom the volleyball team held a 3.4 GPA, capturing the AVCA Team Academic Award, the NAIA Scholar-Team and the Chancellor’s Cup
2014 Season
- Hayes won Coach of the Year in the conference for the first time after her and her team finished second in the conference in 2014 (25-8)
- The Cougars also secured the NAIA Scholar-Team award that year with a 3.37 team GPA
2013 Season
- Led the Cougars to a third place finish in the conference with a 28-11 record, the first winning season in program history
Heather Hayes came to IU Kokomo with 15 years of volleyball coaching experience. Heather coached with Circle City Volleyball Club for four years, ran her own club for five years, and was with Indy Juniors Volleyball Club for a time. Additionally, Heather spent 11 years as the varsity head coach at Frankfort High School in Frankfort, Indiana. During her tenure she led the Hot Dogs to 262 wins and a .690 win percentage, including 8 conference championships, 5 sectional championships, a trip to the elite eight, and a trip to the state finals.
In addition to her extensive coaching background, Heather also has a great deal of experience playing volleyball at a high level. She played five years of club volleyball for Circle City and helped lead her club team to a 3rd place finish at the Junior Olympic National Championships-Open Division during her senior season. In high school, she was also selected as a member of the North/South Indiana All-Star Team and 2nd team All-State. After high school, she played collegiate volleyball for both the University of Montevallo and the University of Indianapolis.
Heather has an undergraduate degree from the University of Indianapolis and a Master’s from Ball State. She resides in Frankfort with her husband, Allen.
