Whitney Nichols Elevated to Head Women's Volleyball Coach

The Big Blue Athletic Department announced Monday, December 11 that Associate Head Coach Whitney Nichols will be elevated to Head Women's Volleyball Coach to replace Debbie Kiick, who retired after the 2023 season, marking 23 seasons with the program. Nichols has been with Millikin for the past two seasons, helping lead the Big Blue to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. She was promoted to associate head coach after her first season as the assistant.

"I want to thank Coach Kiick for allowing me to work alongside her these past two years," Nichols said. "My overall volleyball IQ has grown without question due to her guidance."

In her past two seasons as a part of the coaching staff, the Big Blue have gone 45-23, making the conference tournament both years and appearing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large bid both seasons.

"I'm ecstatic to have been selected as the next Head Volleyball Coach here at Millikin," Nichols said. "I'm looking forward to leading an elite program all while taking them to the next level."

Nichols played two years at Illinois Central College and two years at Greenville University. A 2019 graduate of Greenville, Nichols received her Master's in Sports Management from the University of Dubuque while serving as a graduate assistant with the women's volleyball program.

Since graduating from Dubuque in 2021, the Mt. Pulaski, Ill. native returned home to serve as the head volleyball coach in the Mt. Pulaski School District while also working as a licensed paraprofessional in the district. She previously coached Mt. Pulaski's junior high squad to a third place finish at the state finals.

As a player at Greenville, Nichols was a part of two teams that reached the NCAA tournament. In her first season as a graduate assistant at the University of Dubuque, the team won the American Rivers Conference Tournament and made the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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