Feb. 16, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball head coach Russ Rose announced the promotion of Dennis Hohenshelt from volunteer assistant to assistant coach with the Nittany Lions. Hohenshelt spent 16 seasons at Penn State with the men's and women's volleyball teams prior to a five-year stint as the women's volleyball coach at Virginia.
"I want to welcome Dennis and his family back to Penn State," Rose said. "Dennis has great institutional knowledge and familiarity with our program from his previous stints with both Penn State's men's and women's volleyball programs. In addition to his time at Penn State, serving as the head coach at Virginia has provided valuable experience that he can contribute and help ease the transition for the staff."
"I'm excited to be able to stay on staff and in State College, a place that means a lot to my family. I want to thank [Director of Athletics] Sandy [Barbour] and [Senior Associate AD] Charmelle [Green] and Coach Rose for the opportunity to come back to Penn State and be able to work at what I consider one of the premier volleyball programs in the country," Hohenshelt stated. "It's a big advantage, not only for me, but also for the program, that we are able to pick up where we left off in the fall and hit the ground running in the spring training cycle."
Hohenshelt spent the 2017 season as the volunteer assistant coach for the Nittany Lions, and was a key component to Penn State's NCAA Tournament semifinal run.
Prior to his return to Happy Valley, Hohenshelt spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Virginia, being named head coach in January 2012. Hohenshelt led the Cavaliers to three .500-plus seasons, in both ACC play and on the season.
In his second season at UVa, the Cavaliers doubled their win total from the previous season and finished with an 18-14 record and an 11-9 record in ACC play. The Cavaliers' 18 overall and 11 conference wins were the most since 2007, when the team finished 18-13, 13-9 ACC.
Under his direction, the Cavaliers had eight All-ACC selections, the 2013 ACC Freshman of the Year, 2015 East Coast Region Freshman of the Year and four All-ACC Freshman team honorees. Virginia also had its first AVCA All-American since 2007 when Lauren Fuller was named to the honorable mention team in 2015. Additionally, four Hoos claimed AVCA All-Region accolades during Hohenshelt's tenure.
Before taking the reins at UVa, Hohenshelt was an assistant coach with the Penn State women's team for six seasons after spending 10 campaigns with the Nittany Lion men's team.
With the women's program at Penn State, which won four consecutive NCAA titles from 2007-10, Hohenshelt was involved in match preparation, player development and recruiting. He helped guide Arielle Wilson to set the NCAA Division I record for career hitting percentage at .468 and earn 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and University Park NCAA Regional Championship Most Outstanding Player honors.
Hohenshelt helped the Penn State men's team to the 2006 National Championship match for the first time in 11 years and assisted in recruiting the core of the 2008 team that won the NCAA crown.
During Hohenshelt's tenure, the women's program compiled a 199-18 (.917) record, while the men's team went 237-82 (.743) with Hohenshelt on staff.
A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hohenshelt received his bachelor's degree in secondary education and social studies from Juniata College in 1993, where he led the Eagles to consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) titles in 1992 and 1993 and earned Most Valuable Player honors his senior year.
Hohenshelt began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Huntingdon (Pa.) High School from 1993-95 and was an assistant at Juniata from 1994-95. After being promoted to head coach in 1996, he led the Eagles to an 18-8 record and a second-place finish in the EIVA Division III Tournament.
He currently resides in State College with his wife, Tara, and three children, Jacob, Reese and Axl. Tara, formerly Rowlyk, was a four-year defender for the women's lacrosse team at Penn State. She helped lead the Lions to the 1995 NCAA National Semifinals and the quarterfinals in both 1996 and 1997. She is currently in her second stint as an assistant coach for the Penn State women's lacrosse team.
Hohenshelt replaces former assistant Craig Dyer, who joined the Creighton women's volleyball staff.
"Not only do I want to thank Craig for his time and commitment to the program, but I want to congratulate him on his new position," Rose stated "This is an excellent opportunity and gets him and his family closer to the area of the country that they want to live in. Craig did a great job during his six seasons at Penn State, working with both the men's (2006-09) and women's programs (2016-17). I will miss the contributions that he made to the program. I wish him and his family great success."