Jan. 22, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head volleyball coach Sharon Dingman added another member to her staff Tuesday with the hiring of Christen Garcia, who will serve as the program's first director of volleyball operations. Garcia already brings one year of Division I coaching experience to ISU.

"I'm thrilled to be part of a program as reputable as Illinois State volleyball," said Garcia. "To gain knowledge and experience under Sharon Dingman and her staff is a great opportunity for my career. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and to contributing to the successes that already exist in this program. I'm proud to be a Redbird."

With the Redbirds, Garcia will be in charge of travel coordination and tape exchange, assist with summer camps and oversee community service projects.

Dingman was equally as pleased with the addition of Garcia to her staff.

"We are very excited to add someone's with Christen's experience to our staff," said Dingman. "She was a tremendous player in college and has experience coaching. We now have a staff in place that will allow us to devote our full effort and energies to continuing the success our team experienced this year."

Garcia spent the past year as the assistant coach at her alma mater, Georgia State. The Panthers went 16-14 overall with a 6-8 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). After concluding her playing career in the fall of 2006, Garcia was a student assistant with the team during the spring 2007 season.

Garcia played four years (2003-06) with the Panthers before moving into the coaching ranks. She is Georgia State's career record holder in digs with 1,631, and is the only player in program history to record more than 400 digs in three individual campaigns.