Looking back on Allyssa Van Wienen’s time at Hillsdale College, there aren’t a lot of “firsts” left for the five-year starter on the Charger volleyball team to achieve. However, for the first time this fall, she will step out on to the court in a new role, leaving the jersey back in the locker room.
Earlier this month, Van Wienen officially stepped into a position as assistant coach for the Hillsdale College women’s volleyball team under head coach Chris Gravel and alongside former teammate Taylor Wiese. As one of the most decorated middle hitters in program history, Van Wienen looks to add another element to the Charger coaching staff in its recruiting, training and development of front-row players.
"Throughout her career here, Allyssa not only was an excellent player for us, but also consistently displayed the leadership and teaching ability that you look for in a potential coach," Gravel said. "She has a true passion for the sport of volleyball, and we're very lucky to be the place where she starts her career and begins to develop into the coach she's going to be."
A recent Hillsdale College graduate, Van Wienen joins the coaching staff just two months after putting the finishing touches on a legendary career as a middle hitter for the Charger volleyball team.
Since joining the program in 2017, Van Wienen has been part of a dynasty that has ruled the Great Midwest Athletic Conference from the moment it became a G-MAC member in the fall of 2017. In the past five seasons in the G-MAC, all with Van Wienen as a starter, the Chargers have won five consecutive regular season and tournament tournament championships and carry an 85-match win streak in all of conference play entering the 2022 season.
Successful programs are built on the foundation of strong individuals and Van Wienen is no exception to that. She immediately set the precedent for her career by earning Hillsdale's first-ever G-MAC Player of the Week award after the team’s opening weekend back in August, 2017. Over the course of the next four and a half years Van Wienen would then go on to win an unprecedented 13 additional G-MAC Player of the Week awards. Seven of those came during her historic 2019 season, when she was named the G-MAC Female Athlete of the Year and a consensus All-American, earning first-team honors from both organizations that bestow the honor, the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association.
In her senior season in the fall of 2021, Van Wienen helped lead the Chargers to just their second-ever NCAA Division II Midwest Regional title and Elite Eight appearance, while being named an All-American by both the AVCA and D2CCA for the second time in her career. She is one of just two players in Hillsdale College history to earn All-American honors from multiple organizations in separate seasons, and also one of just two players in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, an award she received in 2020.
For her career, Van Wienen is the only player to exceed both 1,400 kills and 400 blocks at Hillsdale. Her 1,449 kills rank third all-time in program history, and her 420 blocks are fifth in Charger history in that category. Van Wienen's .427 hitting percentage as a junior in 2019 is the second best all-time for a single season in Charger history, and her 414 kills that season rank fourth all-time for Hillsdale players in a single season. She's also the only Charger player to receive first-team All-Conference honors in every season of her career, receiving recognition from the G-MAC in all five years she played.
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Van Wienen was a star at Grand Rapids Christian High School before Hillsdale, helping the Eagles match their best showing in school history up to that point by reaching the MHSAA Class A state semifinals as a junior in 2015 and serving as team captain in 2016. She also was a high level player on the club circuit, playing for Dead Frog-Far Out Volleyball as a part of multiple national invitational-qualifying teams.