Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Volleyball

Brittany Harry was named the 10th women's volleyball head coach in program history on Jan. 3, 2025. In 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Harry has compiled a 310-178 record. In 2024, she led West Texas A&M to a 26-5 record and a Lone Star Conference championship, guided the team to the Division II national tournament and was named the league's coach-of-the-year. "I'm extremely excited to welcome Brittany to SIU," said Tim Leonard, director of athletics. "We were looking for a proven head coach, a winner, and a leader with integrity and high character. That's exactly what we found in Brittany." A native of Champaign, Illinois, Harry was just 23 years old when she was named head coach at Spartanburg Methodist College in 2007. In two seasons, she posted a 49-12 record, her teams made back-to-back appearances at the NJCAA Division I Championships, and she was named the district coach-of-the-year in 2007 and 2008. Harry's extensive head coaching portfolio also includes an 88-38 record in three seasons at Vincennes University (2011-13), an 11-9 mark at Cumberland University (2014), an 84-65 record in five seasons at Laredo College (2015-19), and a 52-49 record in four seasons at Texas A&M International (2020-23). "I feel really grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to lead this program," Harry said. "My conversations with Tim and (Senior Woman Administrator) Katie Gerlach gave me a good sense of the direction Saluki volleyball can go." Harry continued, "being from Champ

SIU alum Bryleigh Buchanan was added to the Southern Illinois coaching staff on June 16, 2025. A native of Harrisburg, Ill., Buchanan is a true Southern Illinoisan, coming to SIU from John A. Logan College where she was an assistant for three seasons. She was also an operations intern for SMASH Volleyball Academy in Carbondale from 2021-2022. Her playing career followed a similar path, beginning at John A. Logan College where she earned her Associate's Degree before finishing with her Bachelor's at SIU in the school of Health and Human Sciences in 2022. She then stayed at SIU and received her Master's of Science in Sport Administration Management in 2023. Buchanan appeared in six matches for the Salukis in 2021, collecting 16 kills. As a freshman at John A. Logan, she was named to the NJCAA All-Region Team after tallying 255 kills and leading the team with 87 blocks.

Southern Illinois Volleyball announced the addition of Chris Yates to the 2025 coaching staff on May 16, 2025. A native of Chicago, Ill., Yates spent the 202...