COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: Rainey returns home in first season as head coach at UVa.-Wise

WISE, Va. – Kendall Rainey is comfortable in her new job. She says it just feels right.

The 26-year-old is having fun in her first season as the head volleyball coach at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, the same school where she was once a two-sport star.

“Since my first year as a student-athlete at UVa.-Wise, I knew that I would be interested in coaching at the college,” Rainey said. “That interest has grown since my graduation and over the past several years I have entertained the idea of returning, but the timing didn’t seem right until now.”

The season has been full of ups and downs, inconsistency and improvement for the Highland Cavaliers. They will carry a 9-20 record into the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament, which begins this week in Kingsport.

While the record isn’t overly impressive, Rainey has helped her young squad make some strides this fall. It’s an undertaking that she has been glad to accept.

“It really was like a homecoming of sorts,” Rainey said. “Everyone is very supportive and I couldn’t ask for a better environment to work in.”

The players have gladly accepted their new coach.

Ruth Hoover, one of just two seniors on the team, wasn’t sure what to think when Rainey took over the program in March after Steve Dallman stepped down following three seasons at the helm.

Hoover said she was a little nervous, but quickly grew to admire and respect the new leader of the Cavaliers.

“She’s settled us down and made us feel more comfortable,” Hoover said. “Because of that the team is closer, I think. She’s really understanding, but she’s also strict.”

That calming effect has trickled down to the seven freshmen on the UVa.-Wise roster.

“She’s been very supportive of all of us,” said freshman outside hitter Autumn Chisenhall. “She likes working with us and helping us with other stuff, besides volleyball, so we can stay on the right track.
She just knows a lot about the game and has been able to help us out and teach us a lot.”

Rainey certainly knows of what she speaks. After starring in multiple sports at Patrick Henry High School, she became a record-setting setter for the UVa.-Wise volleyball program from 2001-04. She was
also a star hitter on the Cavaliers’ softball team.

After graduating from Wise, she spent four years at the University of Tennessee, assisting the school’s strength and conditioning and softball programs. She eventually found her way back to Wise.

While most of her players didn’t know about Rainey’s past success at UVa.-Wise, it didn’t take them long to figure out their coach was once a standout for the Cavs. She occasionally shows off her skills
during drills or while mapping out strategy to her team.

“She’s so small, but she can still get up over the net,” Hoover said. “She holds all those records for a reason. She’s real good. Whenever she tells us what to do, we do it because she knows what she’s
talking about.”

Rainey signifies a youth movement in the AAC. Her assistants – Jessica Cain and Kristen Salyers – were recently standouts at UVa.-Wise.

Virginia Intermont’s Lauren Kinser and Bluefield’s Jaime Bowman are also young head coaches and were standout players in the AAC earlier this decade.

Like both of those ex-players, Rainey is helping her team improve daily.

“We have made some big improvements from the beginning of the season,” Rainey said. “As they have gotten better and more comfortable playing with each other, we have become more consistent on
the court. We still have some major obstacles to overcome in the areas of executing and focus, but I feel like we are getting closer to putting the pieces together.”

With a coach that is enjoying her return to the school.