Kayla Banwarth (born January 21, 1989) is an American former volleyball player and coach. She played as a libero for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. The current head coach is three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant beac ...

. Banwarth won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, and bronze at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Early life

Banwarth was born in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

and attended high school at Wahlert Catholic High School. Her team won three state titles and Banwarth graduated with 1,155 kills, 1,093 digs, and 364 aces. She also set school records for digs and aces. Banwarth was named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year in 2006.

Career

She played college volleyball at

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. Banwarth was part of the USA national team that won the 2014 World Championship gold medal when the team defeated China 3–1 in the final match.
Banwarth retired after the 2016 Rio Olympics and took on a coaching role at her former college, the University of Nebraska, helping the women's volleyball team. She then went on to become the head coach for the Ole Miss starting in the fall of 2020. After a 1-19 COVID-19 shortened first year, in her second season she led the team to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 11 years and their first 20-win (21-9) season in 8 years. In the middle of the 2022 season, Banwarth was placed on leave and eventually she and the university mutually agreed to part ways.

Awards

Individual

* '' 2015 NORCECA Championship "Best Receiver"''

National team

* 2011

Pan-American Volleyball Cup Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

* 2012

* 2013

NORCECA Championship * 2013 Silver medal with cup

FIVB World Grand Champions Cup * 2014 Gold medal with cup

FIVB World Championship * 2015 Gold medal with cup

FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993. The men's version of the competition was called World League. This event should not be confused with the other international volleyball competitio ...

* 2015

FIVB Women's World Cup * 2015 Gold medal with cup

Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2016 Gold medal with cup

Women's NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament * 2016 Silver medal with cup

* 2016

Summer Olympics

Head coaching record

*Suspended October 20, 2022 and mutually parted ways on October 27, 2022.

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels Coaching bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banwarth, Kayla 1989 births Living people American women's volleyball players American volleyball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball players Pepperdine Waves men's volleyball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball coaches Ole Miss Rebels women's volleyball coaches Sportspeople from Dubuque, Iowa Volleyball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Liberos Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games