Completed Event: Volleyball versus Georgia on October 12, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3
Final
Volleyball
1
vs Georgia
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Jones Joins OU Volleyball as Assistant Coach
August 02, 2021 | Volleyball
NORMAN - University of Oklahoma head volleyball coach Lindsey Gray-Walton announced today the hiring of Ciara Jones as an assistant coach.
Jones comes to Oklahoma after spending the last three seasons with the Howard University volleyball program.
'I am thrilled to finalize the staff with the addition of Ciara Jones," Gray-Walton said. "Through her extensive athletics background and humble hard work, Ciara has created and capitalized on her opportunities for success at every stop she's made. The servant leadership shown and legacy of leaving a place better than you found it both as a Division I player and also coach is what we are about at Oklahoma volleyball. Ciara's passion for people and intellect in the game will add great value to the recruitment and development of our future champions. I am thankful for her trust and excited to have such a talented person join our championship journey. '
Jones earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award in 2019 where she was one of 11 NCAA Division I women coaches selected. Also in 2019, Jones made VolleyMag.com 40 coaching hotshots, consisting of coaches under the age of 40 from NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs, NCAA Division I and II men's volleyball programs and all NCAA beach volleyball programs.
I want to thank Lindsey and the OU staff for believing in me to take on this role," Jones said. "There is a special energy when you step OU's campus. The campus is gorgeous, but the people who work there make it a tremendous place to be. There are not a lot of places that make you feel like you're at home when initially arrive, but OU did that for me.
"I am so thrilled to work with Lindsey, Travis, Kyle and Drake. Lindsey has a vision for OU volleyball program that I believe in. More importantly, I believe in her and the community, I can't wait to make her vision a reality. It is truly an honor to be a Sooner!"
In a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones guided Jessica Bolden and Amari Patterson to All-MEAC Rookie honors. During the 2019 campaign, Howard went 20-13 (14-1 MEAC) en route to its fifth consecutive MEAC Championship and fifth straight NCAA appearance. Three Bison earned league postseason honors: Tamar Wells (MEAC Freshman of the Year; All-MEAC); Jurnee Tipton (All-MEAC); and Kira Porter (All-MEAC). In her first year (2018), Jones was instrumental in recruiting new talent and developing current players. With an established and reputable program, Howard volleyball won its fourth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title. Additionally, Howard placed four players on the All-MEAC team and six on the All-MEAC Academic Team. Setter Tamia Dockery was selected MEAC Player of the Year and also named AVCA and VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention.
Prior to Howard, Jones served as Director of Operations for the Clemson Tigers where some of the responsibilities and duties at Clemson included Assistant Camp Director camp preparation, coordinating schedules, assist with coaching duties of over 300 campers, performed day to day administrative operations of the program which included handling team travel logistics and itineraries, transportation, hotels, meals, and away practice times; assisting with on campus recruiting visits logistical details; and assist with managing team budget.
Before Clemson, she spent a year as the head coach and recruiting coordinator for Top Select Volleyball Club in Orlando, Fla. Recently, she was named Head Coach of the Year for Top Select. Jones also served as the head volleyball coach at Edgewater High School in Orlando for three seasons, beginning in 2014. Her high school team won district championships all three seasons, and Jones was voted Metro Coach of the Year in 2016.
From 2014-16, Jones worked for the Orlando Health Foundation as an event coordinator, gaining valuable experience in event management and coordination as well as donor relations. She also spent two years, from 2012-14, as a Blue & Gold Fund Assistant for the Marquette Athletic Department, where she gained additional experience planning events and working with donors.
Jones, who played for Marquette from 2008-12 under the leadership of Head Coach Bond Shymansky (Iowa) and Clemson's head coach Michaela Franklin's time as an assistant coach with the Golden Eagles. She was a four-year letterwinner where she led the Golden Eagles to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2011, a season in which she was named a Big East First Team All-American. Jones earned Marquette Athletics' Outstanding Female Leadership & Service Award in 2012 and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2011-12.
In the summer of 2018, Jones was inducted into the Marquette University M Club Hall of Fame.
In May 2012, Jones earned a bachelor's degree in Broadcast & Electronic Communications from Marquette and earned a master's in Leadership Studies with a specialization in Sports Leadership, also from Marquette, in December 2014.
Jones comes to Oklahoma after spending the last three seasons with the Howard University volleyball program.
'I am thrilled to finalize the staff with the addition of Ciara Jones," Gray-Walton said. "Through her extensive athletics background and humble hard work, Ciara has created and capitalized on her opportunities for success at every stop she's made. The servant leadership shown and legacy of leaving a place better than you found it both as a Division I player and also coach is what we are about at Oklahoma volleyball. Ciara's passion for people and intellect in the game will add great value to the recruitment and development of our future champions. I am thankful for her trust and excited to have such a talented person join our championship journey. '
Jones earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award in 2019 where she was one of 11 NCAA Division I women coaches selected. Also in 2019, Jones made VolleyMag.com 40 coaching hotshots, consisting of coaches under the age of 40 from NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs, NCAA Division I and II men's volleyball programs and all NCAA beach volleyball programs.
I want to thank Lindsey and the OU staff for believing in me to take on this role," Jones said. "There is a special energy when you step OU's campus. The campus is gorgeous, but the people who work there make it a tremendous place to be. There are not a lot of places that make you feel like you're at home when initially arrive, but OU did that for me.
"I am so thrilled to work with Lindsey, Travis, Kyle and Drake. Lindsey has a vision for OU volleyball program that I believe in. More importantly, I believe in her and the community, I can't wait to make her vision a reality. It is truly an honor to be a Sooner!"
In a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones guided Jessica Bolden and Amari Patterson to All-MEAC Rookie honors. During the 2019 campaign, Howard went 20-13 (14-1 MEAC) en route to its fifth consecutive MEAC Championship and fifth straight NCAA appearance. Three Bison earned league postseason honors: Tamar Wells (MEAC Freshman of the Year; All-MEAC); Jurnee Tipton (All-MEAC); and Kira Porter (All-MEAC). In her first year (2018), Jones was instrumental in recruiting new talent and developing current players. With an established and reputable program, Howard volleyball won its fourth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title. Additionally, Howard placed four players on the All-MEAC team and six on the All-MEAC Academic Team. Setter Tamia Dockery was selected MEAC Player of the Year and also named AVCA and VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention.
Prior to Howard, Jones served as Director of Operations for the Clemson Tigers where some of the responsibilities and duties at Clemson included Assistant Camp Director camp preparation, coordinating schedules, assist with coaching duties of over 300 campers, performed day to day administrative operations of the program which included handling team travel logistics and itineraries, transportation, hotels, meals, and away practice times; assisting with on campus recruiting visits logistical details; and assist with managing team budget.
Before Clemson, she spent a year as the head coach and recruiting coordinator for Top Select Volleyball Club in Orlando, Fla. Recently, she was named Head Coach of the Year for Top Select. Jones also served as the head volleyball coach at Edgewater High School in Orlando for three seasons, beginning in 2014. Her high school team won district championships all three seasons, and Jones was voted Metro Coach of the Year in 2016.
From 2014-16, Jones worked for the Orlando Health Foundation as an event coordinator, gaining valuable experience in event management and coordination as well as donor relations. She also spent two years, from 2012-14, as a Blue & Gold Fund Assistant for the Marquette Athletic Department, where she gained additional experience planning events and working with donors.
Jones, who played for Marquette from 2008-12 under the leadership of Head Coach Bond Shymansky (Iowa) and Clemson's head coach Michaela Franklin's time as an assistant coach with the Golden Eagles. She was a four-year letterwinner where she led the Golden Eagles to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2011, a season in which she was named a Big East First Team All-American. Jones earned Marquette Athletics' Outstanding Female Leadership & Service Award in 2012 and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2011-12.
In the summer of 2018, Jones was inducted into the Marquette University M Club Hall of Fame.
In May 2012, Jones earned a bachelor's degree in Broadcast & Electronic Communications from Marquette and earned a master's in Leadership Studies with a specialization in Sports Leadership, also from Marquette, in December 2014.
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