Rita Stubbs adds Ryan Windisch as assistant coach for Arizona volleyball

New Arizona volleyball head coach Rita Stubbs took a little time to complete her staff, but she has finally added her second assistant coach. The program announced on Wednesday morning that Ryan Windisch would join Deitre Collins-Parker as Stubbs’ assistants.

Windisch comes from the junior college ranks where he spent the last five years coaching women’s beach volleyball and men’s and women’s indoor volleyball at Irvine Valley College. His women’s team was the 2022 Orange Empire Conference champion, earning him Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year honors. His men’s team finished third in the state in 2022. In 2021, the men were the Orange Empire Conference champion, and he earned Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year. In 2017, the women were California Community College State champions, and both the men’s and women’s teams were runners up at the state championship in 2019.

Windisch also spent time as the head coach of Balboa Bay Volleyball Club and of the men’s team at Golden West College.

Prior to going into coaching, Windisch played at both Irvine Valley College and Long Beach State. He was the starting libero at LBSU in 2015 before suffering an injury.

Windisch’s experience as a libero could be very helpful for an Arizona team that had difficulty with passing last season and has to replace four-year starting libero Kamaile Hiapo this season.

Along with other sports that have a volunteer assistant coaching position, the NCAA changed the rules that could allow volleyball to add another paid position instead of the volunteer position beginning on July 1. Schools are not required to have the third paid assistant coach, however, and Arizona has not yet indicated whether it will.