Fresno State Athletics
Chlebana Hired as New Volleyball Assistant Coach
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Feb. 5, 2015
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell announced Thursday that she has hired Sarah Chlebana as the new assistant coach for the Bulldog volleyball program.
Chlebana comes to Fresno State after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Sacramento State. She replaces Mallori Gibson, who last month accepted the head coaching position at Cal State Stanislaus.
"I've had my radar on Sarah for years," Netherby-Sewell said. "She's an experienced trainer and mentor with great integrity and heart in the business. I couldn't have hired a better coach to keep our young group climbing during my short leave, and help elevate this program to greater heights in the next few seasons."
At Sacramento State, Chlebana served as the team's recruiting coordinator and assisted in all areas of on-floor coaching, scouting and team training. Additionally, she was the director of operations for the Hornet sand volleyball team and the primary contact for their youth camps for seven-straight years.
Chlebana played a big part in leading the team academic efforts, as the Hornets had at least three Big Sky All-Academic selections in her tenure there, including a program-record eight in 2008.
She was a big part of the Hornet coaching staff that saw its 2011 and 2012 squads both finish 13th in the nation in blocks while the 2011 team was the only program in the country to rank among the nation's top 35 squads in both digs per set (ninth) and blocks per set (13th).
"Sarah has worked in programs known for their tenacious defense," Netherby-Sewell added about Chlebana. "She's been part of developing players and teams ranked nationally, defensively. I've had an offensively-driven program for years. Sarah will help us improve our defensive output and have better balance on both sides of the ball."
Prior to Sacramento State, Chlebana spent the 2007 season as an assistant at Division I member Long Island University and helped lead her team to the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament championship, plus an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
From 2006-07 Chlebana was an assistant coach for the Belgian semi-professional team Volleybalclub Oudegem. Additional coaching experience comes from a two-year stint at Syracuse (2004-05) where she helped lead the Orange to a 50-17 overall record during her tenure there and a one-year stint at Belmont University (2003) in Nashville, Tenn.
Chlebana starred at Sacramento State during her collegiate playing career and is one of just 11 players in Hornet history to accumulate 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. She was a two-time, second-team All-Big Sky selection in 1999 and 2000 and in 1998 garnered Big Sky All-Tournament team honors. She never missed a match during her career where she accumulated 1,116 kills, 1,348 digs, 271 blocks and 85 aces.
She helped lead Sacramento State to four consecutive Big Sky Conference Championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances. A team captain as a senior, Chlebana helped the Hornets go 92-40 overall in her playing career.
A Calgary, Alberta native, she graduated from Sacramento State in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and a minor in mathematics.
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