Stephanie Puett joined the Marlins coaching staff prior to the start of the 2021 season, this will be her third season with the Marlins Volleyball program.
In 2022, the team posted a 20-8 overall record and improved to 11-1 in conference play to win the ODAC regular season title for the first time in program history.
In her first season with the Marlins, Stephanie helped coach VWU to a 24-9 overall record with a 9-2 mark in league play. Under her guidance, VWU got off to a 6-0 start through their first six matches of the season, including defeating Christopher Newport University in four sets in the season opener and toppling the Sea Gulls of Salisbury in five sets on the road. After a challenging weekend at John's Hopkins where the Marlins faced three nationally ranked squads, Virginia Wesleyan got back on track going on an 11-0 run to start the ODAC slate. The Marlins entered the postseason ODAC tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated the Royals of Eastern Mennonite, 3-1, before traveling to the second-seeded Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon where Virginia Wesleyan completed a reverse sweep to win the match 3-2 after trialing 2-0 through the opening two sets. VWU dropped the championship match to the top-seeded Generals of Washington and Lee but had a pair of Marlins earn All-Tournament accolades in Emma Claytor and Alexis Davies-Hackenburg. Stephanie helped coach five Marlins to ODAC All-Conference honors, including the ODAC Rookie of the Year in Emma Claytor, who also garnered AVCA All-Region VI Rookie of the Year and VaSID Rookie of the Year accolades. Setter Haley Sutton also saw VaSID All-State accolades for her efforts during the season.
A native of Saint Joseph, Missouri, Stephanie brings 15 years of coaching experience to Virginia Wesleyan. After her collegiate volleyball career in the NAIA’s Heart of America Conference, she pursued her coaching passion at the club and high school levels in Missouri and Virginia. She coached at Highlands Performance Volleyball Club in Kansas City, Missouri from 2008 to 2013 where she led the 2011 team to a Mid-East Qualifier Championship. Since 2014, Stephanie has coached 17 Black for the Beach Elite Volleyball Club in Virginia Beach. In 2018, she was appointed as the Director of Player Development, where she established technical standard documents and created benchmarks and milestones for the club’s teams and athletes. Additionally, as the Coordinator for Specialty Sessions and Clinics, she leads dozens of camps and clinics in the area, mentoring and developing hundreds of local athletes, and contributing to the community and growth of the game in the area.
Before joining the Marlins Volleyball coaching staff, Stephanie was the Great Bridge High School Girls Head Volleyball Coach from 2014-2018 where she led the squad to multiple post-season tournaments and a District Championship. In 2015, she was honored as the District Coach of the Year.
Stephanie attended Central High School where she was a setter, team captain, and all-district player. During her Junior and Senior years, she also played club in Kansas City, Missouri at Club North Volleyball. Stephanie continued her playing career at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, where she earned her degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Marketing and a Minor in Spanish. She currently lives in the Landstown area of Virginia Beach with her husband Spencer, their 4-year-old August, and their 1-year-old twins, Archer and Adelaide.
