Dawn Barnes enters her first season as the head women’s volleyball coach at South Carolina State University.
Barnes comes to SC State after serving as head coach at Malcolm X Junior College (NJCAA Division I), prior to that she coached at Indiana University Northwest and Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Ill., where she held the same position.
She spent three seasons at Chicago State University (CSU), on the Cougars' coaching staff, where Barnes served as the interim head coach for CSU in 2014 and won their first home tournament in the program's Division I history , while producing 10 Academic All-WAC selections.
Before arriving at Chicago State, Barnes was a volunteer assistant coach at George Mason in 2012. She assisted the Patriots with coaching and game planning. Prior to George Mason, Barnes was the head coach at Howard University for two seasons. She coached three all-MEAC selections and five All-Academic selections and developed the Howard Volleyball Camps.
Barnes served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. She helped the Panthers to a 20-11 overall mark, including a school-record 12 wins in BIG EAST conference play. While at Pitt, she coached the BIG EAST Player of the Year, Libero of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was responsible for technical team practice coordination and match preparation. Barnes also has collegiate coaching experience at Vassar, Eastern Kentucky, and Augustana College.
Barnes is also active with the USA High Performance tryouts, developmental camps and clinics at various locations throughout the nation. She has previously worked camps at Butler and Purdue Universities.
Barnes has extensive experience with several volleyball clubs, having spent three seasons coaching with Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy. She served as the director of recruiting at the NVVA Club in Sterling, Va., and the Metro American, Select and Pittsburgh Elite volleyball clubs and is a Member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
"I am thankful to Stacey Danley, Director of Athletics and Senior Associate Athletic Director,
Melvin Hines for giving me this opportunity to join the Bulldog Family, "said Barnes. "I am humbled and excited to be the Bulldog's new leader. The potential for the volleyball program to be successful is within their reach and I am looking forward to the journey and very glad to be back in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit
www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.
