Fresno State Athletics
'Dogs excited for new staff additions
4/29/2022 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
With these moves as well as the addition of associate head coach Abbie Wright in February, after laying the foundation over the previous four years, "We are thrilled to move into this next chapter of Fresno State volleyball with a full staff," head coach Jonathan Winder said.
"We are fortunate to have had fantastic seasons and moments over the previous four years due to incredible sacrifices and efforts of numerous athletes and staff members. As we move into the 2022 season, our roster of student-athletes is filled with a tremendous amount of talent and high quality character. We will have depth and competition at every position which will allow the team to bring out the best in each other as we strive to achieve our best," Winder said.
"With Hardy Wooldridge continuing to lead our scouting, teaching, and volleyball efforts, I know we will be the most prepared team in our conference. The addition of Abbie is tremendous for our program to grow in new ways both on and off the court. Her experiences as a head coach will be invaluable to our staff and team as we make a push up the conference. Rudy Barajas continues to be a steadfast presence on our staff where he provides great insights to the staff and poise to our athletes," Winder added.
A native of Clovis, Riding graduated from Buchanan High School before moving on to Fresno City College and San Diego Christian College. After getting her master's degree in business administration from Fresno State in 2020, Riding got her career started as a marketing specialist working within the travel and entertainment industries, non-profit sector and higher education.
"Ashlyn has already made a tremendously positive impact on our program and sport in our community," Winder said. "Adding Ashlyn to our staff will truly propel our program to the next level. Her expertise in marketing, business savvy, and vocation for mentoring make her uniquely qualified to take on this operations role. It is my vision to turn Bulldog Volleyball games at the Save Mart Center into the premier volleyball event in California each fall."
In addition to Riding, Samarin moves to the technical coordinator role on the staff. After spending the 2021 season as the director of operations, Samarin will move into a new role this season providing insights to both the 'Dogs and their opponents.
"The benefit of transitioning Aaron into a technical coordinator position will allow our team to be at the top of our conference in our analytics and match preparation. His diligent work allows our staff to know what to work on in training to be prepared for matches and keep finding areas of growth throughout the season," Winder added.
"Having him continue in this capacity improves our competitive ability in our conference to know what we need to do to become the best we can become. Aaron has learned to do this job at a very high level which has allowed our team to have a successful offseason. We're fortunate to be able to have him be part of our staff," WInder said.
With the Bulldogs finishing their first full offseason segment since 2019 this spring, building a talented and experienced staff and completing the roster with a high quality group of young women, the future is bright for the 'Dogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateVB
Instagram: FresnoStatevball
Facebook: FresnoStateVB
