Ellen Andrews

Awards --VolleyballMag's 2023 College Coaching Hotshots List Andrews was announced as the new assistant coach on May 4, 2023. The 2024 season was one for the record books as Arizona State won its first conference championship in team history in the first season in the Big 12. Andrews helped Arizona State finish the season with a 30-3 record, going 17-1 in Big 12 play. The Sun Devils, who earned a No. 3 seed and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, advanced to the second round, the second-straight year doing so. The 30 wins on the year are the most this century and one from the most all-time (31 in 1982). The winning percentage of .909 is the best in team history. The Sun Devils went undefeated at home in the regular season for the first time since becoming an NCAA sport. Before falling in the final match, Arizona State had an 18-match winning streak, the second-longest in program history. With winning comes awards and the Sun Devils bought in many honors in 2024. In addition to their monumental win total, they went 5-2 against ranked opponents, including a top-10 win over then-No. 8 Kansas. Arizona State never lost a match to an unranked team during the regular season. There were four AVCA All-Americans, four AVCA All-Region players, two major coaching honors, five Big 12 honorees, and five Big 12 Player of the Week nods. Four is the most All-Americans in a single season in program history for ASU.  In a historic 2023 season, Arizona State went 28-7 in Ellen Andrews’ first season with the program. The Sun Devils reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, winning two matches for the first time in program history. Arizona State had its second-highest win total in a season in program history with 28, which was the most wins in a season this century. To start the season, the Sun Devils went 14-0), the third-best start in team history. The team was ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the last 10 weeks of the regular season, reaching as high as No. 15. The Sun Devils finished the year at No. 16 in the rankings, the first time finishing a season ranked since 2014 and the highest final ranking since 1995. The Sun Devils finished the Pac-12 in a tie for third with a 14-6 record, the most conference wins in a single season in program history. That was the best finish since tying for second in 1993 in the Pac-10. The team picked up a pair of monumental wins, sweeping both No. 5 Oregon on the road and No. 3 Stanford at home. This was the first time beating two top-10 teams in the same season since 2010, but it was the first time with two top-10 sweeps in the same year. She helped coach three All-Americans in Marta Levinska (first team), Claire Jeter (honorable mention) and Shannon Shields (honorable mention). There were also four AVCA All-District honors and five Pac-12 nods. Andrews has a lot of club coaching experience, which is where she was working most recently prior to ASU. From 2017-23, she was at Kairos Elite Volleyball Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she was a recruiting coordinator and head coach. While there, she got 64-plus college commitments, five AAU National Championships and 28 AAU/USAV All-Americans. She spent two years as the recruiting coordinator and head coach for the Club Madfrog in Dallas, Texas, from 2015-16. Following her playing career, she had a couple coaching stops, first in Sioux Falls at Sioux Falls South Volleyball from 2007-09. In 2010, she coached at the Nebraska Elite Volleyball Club. Andrews coached at two previous universities. She returned to her alma mater Augustana as an assistant coach in 2016 and was there for two years. She helped lead the team to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the program’s first since 2008. The Vikings not only qualified, but they also won their first game, the program’s first win since 2006. While Andrews was on the staff, the team had two top-25 finishes. Additionally, she pushed the team to impressive accolades. They had one All-American and seven all-conference players. Andrews spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State University from 2010 to 2013 and helped the Bearkats to a Southland Conference title in 2012. During her tenure at Sam Houston State, seven different players earned All-Southland honors a total of 11 times. Andrews also oversaw one player who was recognized as the league's Player of the Year following the team's 2012 conference championship season. Sam Houston State earned a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament all four years Andrews spent as an assistant coach with the Bearkats. Andrews joined the Sam Houston State staff as a graduate assistant coach in 2010 before being promoted to full time in 2011.   Not only does Andrews have coaching experience, but she was a successful student-athlete in her own right. She played right side at Augustana from 2005-09. During her playing career, Andrews earned All-NSIC Honorable Mention honors in 2008 and All-North Central Conference first team honors in 2007. Andrews was also a Daktronics All-Central Region honoree in 2008. She played in 122 matches and still ranks fifth all-time at Augustana in kills with 1,340. Andrews was a member of four straight NCAA Tournament teams during her career, including her redshirt season in 2005. She was named a team captain in 2009 and led the Vikings with 318 kills (2.97/set) while finishing second on the team with 65 total blocks. Andrews earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Sam Houston in 2011. She was a 2009 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Augustana, earning her bachelor’s in exercise science. She is originally from Bancroft, Nebraska. Her husband's name is Ben.