Carlson Named Iowa Volleyball's Director of Operations

June 23, 2014

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Danielle Carlson has been named the University of Iowa volleyball program’s director of operations, UI head coach Bond Shymansky announced Monday.

“I’m excited about building a program at Iowa and being a part of Bond’s vision,” Carlson said. “I know what he does works. It can make champions out of athletes, and we know the athletes at Iowa are great. I’m excited to be part of something new and put in the work with the coaching staff and girls. It’s going to be fun.”

Carlson joins the Hawkeye staff following a professional volleyball career in the Gislaved Volleyball Klub of Gislaved, Sweden. She also played collegiate volleyball for Shymansky at Marquette.

“Bringing Danielle on board completes our staff as we prepare to compete and win in the Big Ten,” Shymansky said. “It’s important to me as head coach to have loyal, competitive and trustworthy people in the program. That is especially important when it comes to staff. Danielle has proven and exhibited that in her career, as she played for me as a student-athlete and now has shown that as a professional player and a professional employee in the work force.

“I’ve always believed that Danielle can do anything. She has decided to join our staff as director of operations and she’ll do that exceptionally well. It will be great to have her on board.”

As a student-athlete at Marquette from 2009-12, Carlson helped the team to its first two NCAA Tournament appearances and served as team captain during her senior season. The two-time AVCA All-American also excelled in the class room, garnering Capital One Academic All-American accolades in 2012 and Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence awards in 2011 and 2012. She also earned the Big East Conference Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Award, was a Helen Way Klinger College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Award nominee, received the Marquette University Cura Peronalis Award and was a Senior CLASS Award nominee in 2013.

After graduating from Marquette with a bachelor of arts in psychology and theology, Carlson continued her volleyball career professionally for Gislaved Volleyball Klub. She competed in the Swedish Professional Elite Series League and also organized and led weekly junior high and high school volleyball clinics during her time overseas.

Carlson spent the past year working at Alexander Hamilton High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a College Possible AmeriCorps member.