Michigan State University Athletics
Shaylen Jackson Added to Volleyball Coaching Staff
6/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
June 29, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Shaylen Jackson, who played as a middle blocker under head coach Cathy George at Western Michigan, has been added to the MSU volleyball coaching staff as the volunteer assistant coach for 2009. Jackson, who was a middle blocker during her competition days, will work primarily with that unit as well as perform a number of other coaching duties this season. Jackson replaces former MSU volunteer assistant Tom Mendoza, who is now an assistant coach at the University of Evansville (Ill.).
"I've known Shaylen for years and it is an absolute thrill for me to have one of my former players on my coaching staff this season," George said. "Shaylen's unique leadership skills, integrity, and work ethic give her the necessary tools to begin a long and successful coaching career. It was apparent to me when Shaylen was a player that she would be an exceptional coach because of her ability to teach younger teammates within our gym. I am confident Shaylen is well equipped to immediately take over training our middles in blocking and attacking."
Jackson joins the Michigan State volleyball program after becoming one of the most well-recognized volleyball players in Western Michigan program history after playing under George for three seasons. A 2007 graduate, Jackson holds the Western Michigan program records in solo blocks in a five-set match (7), block assists in a five-set match (15), career total blocks (563), and career blocks per game (1.25).
As a 6-1 middle blocker, Jackson helped the Broncos finish third or better in the MAC West in each of her four years with the program, highlighted by an 11-5 mark during her junior and senior seasons. During her senior season, Jackson posted a hitting percentage of .373, which still stands as the best single-season hitting percentage in school history. During her career, Jackson received All-MAC accolades in each of her four seasons, highlighted by All-MAC First Team honors in 2004 and 2005. Jackson was also named All-MAC honorable mention in 2003 and was named to the league's All-Freshman team in 2002.
In addition to her All-MAC honors in 2005, Jackson was also an AVCA All-Region honorable mention selection that year, helping the Broncos to a 20-9 mark, their highest win total at the time since 2000. She was also an AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region selection in 2003. Jackson ended her career fifth on WMU's kills list with 1,257. Jackson also holds the MAC single-match record with a 1.000 hitting percentage on 11 successful attempts becoming the first MAC player ever to achieve that goal based on 10 or more attempts.
Upon her graduation, Jackson worked with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Western Michigan and was responsible for leadership development, discipleship, and small group training. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is an evangelical campus mission that serves more than 32,000 students and faculty on more than 550 college and university campuses nationwide.
