Sherisa Livingston enters her fourth season as the head coach of the Radford volleyball program in 2023-24. Named the 11th head coach in program history in 2020, her teams have shown steady improvement and growing success each year.
The 2022 season was Livingston's best yet, leading the Highlanders to a 12-16 overall record, including an 8-8 mark in Big South play. Junior libero Shelby Hernandez was voted onto the VaSID All-State Second Team and represented Radford on the Big South All-Academic Team. Also, in her very first season playing for Livingston, sophomore Sophie Paspal recorded fifth-best attack percentage in school history.
It was a marked step forward following a 6-22 (4-11 Big South) performance in 2021 and a 3-13 (3-13 Big South) record during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.Â
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Livingston made her way to Radford with nearly seven years of coaching experience following a phenomenal career as a student-athlete and a professional career. Prior to becoming a Highlander, she was the assistant coach at fellow Big South Conference institution, Winthrop University.Â
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While with the Eagles, Livingston trained student-athletes at the attack and blocking positions as well as helped develop the team offense. She aided the passer strategy, coordinate game plans, recruiting student-athletes, in addition to managing the daily operations of the athletic program. The 2019 season for Winthrop concluded with a Big South Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, its first since 2006. The Eagles posted an overall record of 24-5 and a perfect 14-0 conference slate.
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Livingston has had coaching stops at Tennessee Tech, the University of Antelope Valley, Seattle University, and at Nebraska. Some of her accolades as a coach include recruiting and launching the first volleyball program in Antelope Valley history, coaching numerous all-conference selections at two different institutions, as well as Big South Player of the Year/Setter of the Year and Tournament MVP – Siani Yamaguchi.Â
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Her playing experience as a student-athlete came at Wisconsin, where she received her bachelor’s degree in history. While there, Livingston’s presence on the court was undeniable. She is the Badger’s all-time kills leader and was a key member is helping the team reach the NCAA tournament all four years of her career, where they finished second in 2000. En route to those appearances, Livingston and her team won back-to-back Big Ten Championships.Â
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She was named to the NCAA all-tournament team, Co-Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, Wisconsin’s Female Athlete of the Year (2000-01), a two-time AVCA First Team All-American, a nine-time conference tournament selection, four-time all-region honoree and was tabbed Big Ten Player of the Week six times during her career. Livingston has also played for USA Volleyball on the junior national team 1998-99. On the national stage, she garnered recognition as the ‘best blocker’ at the 1999 world championships in Canada.Â
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After college, she continued to play volleyball on a global scale. Through her experience she won gold at the NORCECA games in Mexico in 1998, won the Indonesia Proliga championship in 2005 and was vice champions in the Romanian league in 2008-09.
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Livingston earned her master’s degree from American Public University in sport management in December 2019.Â
