Women's Volleyball

COACHING STAFF

CARA CURRIER
HEAD COACH

After spending the 2000 and 2001 seasons as University of St. Francis' assistant volleyball coach, Cara Currier took over the Lady Saint program in 2002 and found immediate success. Her initial team not only posted a 35-9 mark, but also advanced to the NAIA national tournament, where it tied for 11th place in the country.

In addition, Currier and her contingent added a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title and a NAIA Region VII tournament championship to their list of accomplishments in her inaugural campaign.

Currier, who posted her 100th career collegiate coaching victory last fall, stands 112-57 in her four years at the USF helm. She was promoted to head coach after Kendall Villa resigned upon the completion of the 2001 season. Villa, a USF graduate, tallied a 77-34 record in her three-year coaching stint and won the CCAC tournament in 2001, while advancing to regionals twice.

Along with her responsibilities as head coach, Currier also is the Assistant Director of Athletics at USF.

Prior to arriving at St. Francis, Currier spent five years as a math teacher and coach at Plainfield High School. In her four years as the girls' varsity volleyball coach, the Wildcats went 46-68-6. She also served as the head softball coach on the sophomore level all five years.

Currier received bachelor of arts degrees in mathematics and secondary education from Augustana College in 1990 and a master of science degree in sports management from Western Illinois University in 1998.

While attending Augustana, Currier posted a 3.31 grade point average and earned a total of 11 letters in volleyball, swimming and softball. Her collegiate honors included being named a softball GTE Academic All-American, a member of the Dean's List and a team captain. She also was an all-conference performer in both softball and swimming, not to mention being the recipient of the Outstanding Participant Award at the Collegiate Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Swimming Championships.

During her prep career at Hononegah High School in Rockton, Currier was a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and softball.

Currier is the mother of twin daughters, Ashley and Haley, who were born in the fall of 2003. They reside in Minooka.

JEANA PEKOL
ASSISTANT COACH

Former University of St. Francis volleyball player Jeana (Carrico) Pekol enters her fourth season with the Lady Saint coaching staff.

Pekol played her senior season at USF and was named to the all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference team that year (1998). She also was recognized twice as the league's player of the week.

Before transferring to St. Francis, Pekol competed at the University of Missouri-St. Louis her freshman year and at Northeastern Illinois University the following two seasons.

While at UMSL, Pekol was voted as the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association freshman of the year. She gained honors at Northeastern, as well, making the all-Mid-Continent Conference team.

Pekol, a member of the Kappa Delta Phi International Honor Society, also was the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board while at Northeastern.

Pekol's coaching background includes working at St. Francis' All-American Camp and both the Peru Park District and LaSalle-Peru High School summer camps. She also coached the Illinois Valley Volley Power club team.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in elementary education from USF in 1999, Pekol went on to get her master's in educational leadership from Aurora University in 2004.

In addition to coaching at USF, Pekol teaches seventh grade at Minooka Junior High. She and her husband Scott, a former USF basketball player, live in Joliet with their twin sons Zach and Luke, who celebrated their first birthdays in May.