Alison Cooke - Volleyball Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Oakland

Sep 17 (Wed)

6 p.m.

Alison Cooke

Title:
Assistant Volleyball Coach
Email:
acooke@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7413

Alison Cooke joined the Bowling Green State University volleyball staff in June 2017, coming from Duke University where she had been a Volunteer Assistant Volleyball Coach since March 2015. Cooke received a promotion to Associate Head Coach in March 2023.

Completing her eighth season with the Falcons in 2024, Cooke has been a member of a staff that has coached the Orange and Brown to back-to-back MAC Regular Season titles in 2017 and 2018, a MAC Regular Season title in 2024 as well as the MAC Regular Season and MAC Tournament titles in 2020-21 and 2022 that both included an NCAA Tournament appearance. The staff also coached BGSU to five consecutive MAC Tournament Championship appearances (2019-2023), the longest MAC streak since 2010. Over her seven years with the program, BGSU has a 165-81 record, including a 115-26 MAC standing.

The Falcons put together a historic 2024 campaign, finishing 25-10 with a 16-2 MAC record, capturing the MAC Championship and finishing as the NIVC Runner-Up for just the second time in program history. As a team in 2024, the Falcons set multiple Rally Scoring Era records, including aces in a season (231) and total blocks in a season (335.5). The team also matched the record for solo blocks in a three-set match, registering five against Buffalo on Oct. 17. The 16-2 MAC record matched the records for most MAC wins, best MAC winning percentage and the fewest MAC losses in an 18-match conference season. In totality, 38 individual accolades were added to the record book following the season in either the All-Time or Rally Scoring Eras. Among those including Alexis Mettille breaking the program’s single-season and career hitting percentage records as well as Lauryn Hovey breaking the Rally Scoring records for single-season and career aces.

With Bowling Green, Cooke has been working primarily with the Falcons’ defense and passing. Under Cooke's tutelage, libero Kallie Seimet accomplished back-to-back MAC Defensive Player of the Year awards in as well as being named MAC Player of the Year 2017 and 2018, becoming the first athlete in MAC history to do so. In 2021, Julia Walz was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year after a campaign that featured seven MAC East Defensive Player of the Week selections.

2021 marked a monumental season for the Falcons, as junior Petra Indrova earned the program's first AVCA All-American honor. The opposite hitter was named to the AVCA Third Team after a season that included 13 double-doubles and 4.20 kills per set, the 10th-best total in program history. Indrova was a six-rotation player for the Falcons, who finished with a perfect home record for the first time since 1979. Hanna Laube was named Academic All-American that season, the second player in program history to do so. In 2020-21, Laube was named MAC Setter of the Year after logging 11.23 assists per set, the seventh-highest single-season mark in school history. Katelyn Meyer was named to the 2021 All-MAC First Team, the first player in BGVB history to earn First Team honors on four occasions.

In 2016, Isabelle Marciniak was named MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Setter of the Year, with the Setter of the Year honor being the program's first. Marciniak also earned All-MAC Honorable Mention and MAC All-Tournament Team over the course of her career. She finished her career with 3,196 assists, the second-highest total in program history.

Prior to Bowling Green, Cooke served as a Volunteer Assistant Volleyball Coach at Duke University, beginning in March of 2015. Working alongside Duke’s head coach since 1999 in Jolene Nagel, Cooke and the Blue Devils went 21-9 in 2016, including a 15-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In her first season in Durham, Duke went 17-13 (12-8 ACC) and ended the season with a victory over ranked North Carolina.

At Duke, Cooke played a large role in player development, and assisted with practice planning. In addition to those roles, Cooke tracked opponent’s in-match offense. Cooke aided with administrative office duties, as well, on top of organizing summer camps. At Duke, she also assisted with recruiting visits. In addition to her duties with the varsity program, Cooke also served as the men’s club volleyball head coach at Duke.

Cooke has also spent extensive time at the club level, and most recently has spent time as a resource coach with Triangle Volleyball Club in Raleigh, N.C. Cooke worked with the elite 18 teams, running clinics and provided instruction and feedback for player development. Prior to that, she trained and worked private lessons at Carolina Union Volleyball Club.

A standout setter at Wingate University, Cooke led the Bulldogs to three NCAA Elite Eight appearances, and was a two-time AVCA All-American. Cooke averaged 10.50 assists per set across her senior year, setting up an offense that finished in the top 20 nationally in kills per set.

A native of Davidson, N.C., Cooke earned her psychology degree from Wingate in 2014, and she has since completed her master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine.