Jeri Estes Tabbed Assistant Volleyball Coach
August 15, 2011 | Volleyball
Aug. 15, 2011
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Jeri Estes has been named an assistant coach for the East Carolina volleyball program, according to an announcement by head coach Pati Rolf. He will serve as a replacement for assistant Katie Baggett, who is currently on maternity leave after giving birth to a daughter last week.
"It is an honor and privilege to work with such a qualified and experienced coach in Pati Rolf," Estes said. "Athletic Director Terry Holland's vision for this athletic department is also exciting and something I am looking forward to experiencing on a daily basis. East Carolina's commitment to excellence in both academics and athletics is something all universities and colleges should note and aspire to. I look forward to helping our ladies become not only great competitors, but also successful people beyond their playing years."
Estes' experience as a volleyball coach spans the full spectrum of women's volleyball from junior club competition to the highest professional and elite international levels. He has worked as an assistant coach for some of the most respected and successful college and international head coaches in the world - including Nikolai Karpol, the legendary Russian coach, Brian Gimmillaro at Long Beach State, United States Olympic coaches Mick Haley and Toshi Yoshida, and UC Santa Barbara head coach Kathy Gregory. Additionally, Estes has won three national titles in as many countries - the United States, Russia and Switzerland.
As a head coach, Estes has produced successful tenures with the Saint Louis Quest in the United States Professional Volleyball League (USPVL), Volero VBC Zurich in the European Champions League and Dinamo-Moscow in the Russian SuperLeague. His teams have featured notable American players Logan Tom, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, Danielle Scott, Keri Walsh and Tayeeba Haneef in addition to numerous top-level international players.
During the 2010 season, Estes served as associate head coach at UC Santa Barbara and guided the Gauchos to a 16-13 record and 10-6 mark in the Big West Conference. He also mentored setter Dana Vargas, one of the most decorated players in program history, and middle hitter Stacey Schmidt to all-conference, all-west region and American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America accolades.
Estes began his career as an assistant coach for Long Beach State from 1994-98, helping the squad to a national title in 1998 as the first undefeated squad in NCAA history. While he was with the program, the 49ers made two final four appearances, earned five NCAA Tournament bids, captured three Big West Conference titles and produced four seasons in which the team finished in the national top 10.
After his stint at LBSU, Estes joined the United States National Team as an assistant in 1999 and 2000. With his help, the Americans captured the North America, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Federation Olympic Qualifying Tournament, turned in a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and produced fifth-place results at the World Grand Prix and Montreux Volley Masters.
Estes also spent time (2000-04) assisting Karpol with the Russian National Team as the squad was ranked No. 1 in the world two consecutive years, won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Athens and earned gold at the 2002 World Grand Prix, 2002 Montreux Volley Masters and 2001 European Championships. The squad also took second at the 2000 and 2003 World Grand Prix competitions.
While working as the Associate Head Coach for Russian club Uralochka-NTMK, Estes helped lead the team to a silver medal in the Indesit CEV Cup, and a bronze in the Russian Super-League. Uralochka is the most successful professional women's team in international volleyball history with eight first-place finishes and nine second-place showings in the European Champions League - the highest-level professional volleyball league in the world.
As head coach of Volero VBC from 2003-06, the team was promoted from the second league to the first league after his first season then placed first in the highest division the next two consecutive years - enjoying a 74-game win streak. Estes also led the team to a fourth-place finish out of 64 squads in the Top Teams Cup. Volero was the 2004 champion in the Second Division of the Swiss League while winning gold medals at the Swiss Cup in 2005 and 2006 and the Swiss Super League in 2005 and 2006.
Closer to home, Estes guided the Saint Louis Quest to a third-place finish in the USPVL and coached the league's most valuable player. The Quest also led the league in most statistical categories.
In December of 1996, Estes founded the Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball Club and was responsible for organizing the team's budget and travel as well as coordinating training of fundamental and advanced volleyball skills for 19 junior clubs in the highly-competitive Southern California region.
Estes attended California State-Long Beach University and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and correctional counseling.
