GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University has named Emily Kalmink as the women's beach volleyball head coach announced Josh Ealy, TU vice president of athletics.
Kalmink becomes the fourth head coach in the history of the Tusculum women's beach volleyball program.
She has four years of collegiate coaching experience in the sport including the last three seasons where she was on the coaching staff at NCAA Division II Saint Leo University in Florida. She helped the Lions to a 53-33 overall record while at Saint Leo including last spring's 16-8 campaign which included a fourth place finish in the championship bracket of the AVCA Small College National Tournament.
In her first season with the Lions, Saint Leo posted a 22-13 record which was capped off by winning the Silver Bracket at the 2022 AVCA Small College Championship. The 2023 club repeated as Silver Bracket winners at the AVCA National Tournament as the Lions posted a 15-12 worksheet.
"We are very excited to have Coach Kalmink at the helm of the Tusculum women's beach program," Ealy said. "I am confident Emily will continue to build upon the success our beach program has enjoyed. She is a proven winner, both as a coach and a student-athlete and her enthusiasm and knowledge will be a great asset for our program and our University community."
The Byron Center, Michigan native began her coaching career at the State College of Florida in 2021 where she was an assistant coach with the beach volleyball team.
"I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement to begin this journey with the Tusculum family," said Kalmink. "I have worked hard towards an opportunity like this and I am beyond grateful to Josh for giving me this opportunity and everyone else who gave me amazing insight into the university and the program."
She played collegiately at NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island where she was a two-year starting middle blocker and team captain. She led the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA III Tournament appearances including 2016 where JWU went 33-1 and swept the Great Northeast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.
Kalmink was a two-time AVCA All-Region and All-GNAC selection at JWU and was named to the GNAC All-Tournament team on two occasions including 2015 where she was the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
She also played two seasons at Southeastern University where her teams posted a combined record of 44-14 including 25-7 in conference play. In 2018, she led the Fire to a 23-4 record and a Sun Conference Championship while earning a spot on the All-Sun Conference squad. In 2019, Southeastern went 21-10 as Kalmink garnered All-Sun Conference first team honors.
She graduated from Southeastern University in 2019 where she majored in communications. She earned her Master's degree in 2021 from the University of Florida in sports management focusing on student-athlete development and coaching.
"My goal for the program is always growth. I always want to push our team to be a little better every day, which will eventually lead to long term success," Kalmink added. "My goal is for each individual that enters our program to grow athletically to their full potential, academically to be successful, and in confidence of who they are and who they want to be."
"I want to thank Natalia Koryzna McClaren (Saint Leo head coach) for her amazing support and guidance throughout my time at Saint Leo. She helped me grow and shape my leadership abilities and I would not be where I am without her. I'm especially grateful to all of my friends and family for their support through this process."
Tusculum went 21-12 this past spring while claiming seventh place honors in the Silver Bracket of the AVCA Small College Championships.
