Galesburg, IL – A former standout volleyball player that made the transition to coaching the game will be leading Knox College on the court next fall.

Knox athletic director Chad Eisele has announced the hiring of Shayla Chalker as the Prairie Fire’s full-time head volleyball coach.  Chalker spent the past two seasons as a volleyball assistant at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Chalker - prior to her coaching career - played on the Australian National Team from 2000 to 2011.  She was also a member of the Australian National Championship Team (2003-2005), her Victorian State Team (2000-2005), and was named four times the recipient of the Australian All-Star Six Award (2000, 2001, 2003, and 2005).

Before arriving at Culver-Stockton, Chalker was an assistant volleyball coach at Quincy University.  In addition, she served as the head coach of the Riverfront Bruisers Volleyball Club in Quincy beginning in January of 2010.

Chalker graduated from Coe College in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education.  On the volleyball court she was a two-time All-American, received First-Team All-Conference accolades four times, and was twice named NCAA Division III All-Central Region.

“Her experience of being on the Australian National Team and an NCAA D3 All-American at Coe give her valuable experience to lead our team,” Eisele said.

Chalker is excited about the next chapter in her coaching career.  “It's a privilege to work at such a well respected institution,” she said.  “There is strong potential for the volleyball program to become one of the top programs in the Midwest and I am excited to work with the student-athletes as well as the faculty and staff."

Chalker, who is pursuing her master’s degree in education in leadership from Quincy University, is expected to begin her duties at Knox on April 1.

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