Cornell College Volleyball Camps

Ram Volleyball Camps

Jeff Meeker
Head Coach

Jeff Meeker, the 2004 Iowa Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year, is in his sixth year at Cornell after two successful stints coaching in the NAIA ranks. Meeker, a graduate of Mount Vernon (Iowa) High School, received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Knox College. He received a master's degree in sport psychology from the University of Iowa.

In 1993-94, Meeker was a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Iowa volleyball team. From 1995 to 1998 he coached at Iowa Wesleyan; taking the Tigers from nine wins in 1995 to 20 wins in 1998. Meeker was named Midwest Classic Conference Coach of the Year in 1997. From 1999 to 2002 Meeker was an assistant men's volleyball coach at St. Ambrose.

Meeker conducted camps throughout Iowa and Illinois over the past 15 years. He will also be coaching the USA Volleyball/Iowa Region Women's Junior National Team this summer.

Meeker and his wife, Monica, reside in Mount Vernon with their four children, Sydney, Jackson, Jayden and Jensen.
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Shanda Ness
Assistant Coach

Ness begins her second season as assistant coach at Cornell.

She has been a volleyball coach and camp clinician for 12 years. She graduated from Britton (S.D.) High School in 1988. Ness earned a bachelor of science degree in health, physical education and recreation from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., in 1993 and a master of arts degree in teaching in 1994.

Ness coached and taught at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., from 1994-97 and at Gustavus Adolphus from 1997-2005. She was a graduate assistant volleyball coach at Northern State in 1993, an assistant coach at Dakota Wesleyan from 1994-96 and an assistant coach for seven seasons at Gustavus Adolphus (1997-2003).

Ness is also the head softball coach at Cornell.
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April Elsbernd
Assistant Coach

Elsbernd returns to Cornell for her second stint as assistant volleyball coach. She also served as a Ram assistant in 2004 and 2005.

Elsbernd, a native of Calmar, Iowa, graduated from Coe College in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and communications. She was a four-year varsity letterwinner on Coe's volleyball team from 1999-2002 and still holds seven school records, including career kills (1,213), career total blocks (306) and career games played (478).

Elsbernd worked in the student life office at Cornell from 2003-06 while helping coach the Ram volleyball team for two years. She served as an assistant volleyball coach at Western Technical College in LaCrosse, Wis., in 2006.

Elsbernd plans to earn a master's degree in sport administration at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in December 2007. She resides in Mount Vernon.